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5 Year Old Child May Have Been Bitten By A

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Posted on Thu, 19 Dec 2019
Question: 5 year old child may have been bitten by a bat in the house. Incident occurred on Saturday 11/23. Toxicology on the bat will not be available until Monday 12/2. Will it be safe to wait for the toxicology report before administering the rabbies prophylactic series of injections? Thank you.
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Answered by Dr. Diptanshu Das (1 hour later)
Brief Answer:
You should not have waited

Detailed Answer:
Thanks for using the Ask a Doctor service.

I have gone through your query. Incidentally rabies is a disease that is 100% lethal in humans. The anti-rabies vaccine therefore needs to be administered on Day zero i.e. on the very day of bite. So, if the bat was rabid, your child does not stand a chance (assuming unimmunized state till now). Since your child is apparently doing well till now, it can therefore be assumed that the bat was not rabid and therefore vaccination is not required. However, under no circumstance should you have waited for the toxicology reports to arrive.

Regards
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad
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Answered by
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Dr. Diptanshu Das

Pediatrician

Practicing since :2005

Answered : 3875 Questions

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5 Year Old Child May Have Been Bitten By A

Brief Answer: You should not have waited Detailed Answer: Thanks for using the Ask a Doctor service. I have gone through your query. Incidentally rabies is a disease that is 100% lethal in humans. The anti-rabies vaccine therefore needs to be administered on Day zero i.e. on the very day of bite. So, if the bat was rabid, your child does not stand a chance (assuming unimmunized state till now). Since your child is apparently doing well till now, it can therefore be assumed that the bat was not rabid and therefore vaccination is not required. However, under no circumstance should you have waited for the toxicology reports to arrive. Regards