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Is A Second Dose Of Vaccination Required After A Dog Scratch?

Posted on Sat, 7 May 2016

Question: A dog which lives in my compound but roams nearby was sleeping on our courtyard. while trying to remove a thing just beside it I received a little scratch on my hand by his nail though he was not responsible. There was no bleeding but the skin got abrased a little. I washed the spot with soap and surf (detergent) immediately. A little burning sensation was there. The dog is fed by us and sleeps in our compound. He can be watched. Just a month back I received 3 doses of Rabipur for suspected scratch by another dog. Do I need to take PEP? OR, I should observe the dog for 10 days. This happened yesterday and the dog was not vaccinated with A.R.V.

Answered by Dr. Pavan Kumar Gupta (40 minutes later)

Brief answer....you need to get vaccinated
Detailed answer....
Hello,
Thanks for the query.
I have read your query and understand your concern.
Although prima facie it does appear that present bite is harmless but frankly speaking there is no way of knowing whether the dog is infected or not because rabies virus can be excreted in saliva of infected animals several days before they show any sign of illness.
This means that animals can transmit rabies even if they are not yet sick because of their infection.
So you do need to get vaccinated but with only two booster doses on day 0 and day 3.
No need to wait for 10 days.

I hope it is clear to you however you are most welcome to revert to me for any further query.
Best of luck
Thanks

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar