The first step when dealing with possible human exposure to the rabies virus is to completely irrigate the wound thoroughly with soap and water. Detergent may also be used to flush out the wound. Do not suture the wound. If a person is potentially exposed to rabies from other domestic animals or wildlife, the animal is immediately euthanized and its brain is analyzed for the virus in the laboratory.
Special consideration is given to bat exposures.
In these cases, treatment continues as if the bat was rabid until lab tests come back negative. This protocol is followed even if a bat bite wound is not evident. A lab technician working in a diagnostics lab Postexposure prophylaxis consists of a single dose of hyperimmune globulin and five doses of the rabies vaccine over a 28-day period. The immune globulin is given half intramuscularly and half infiltrated around the wound, while all rabies vaccines are given intramuscularly in the deltoid area. If the person has previously received a rabies vaccine, the rabies immune globulin is not given and rabies vaccine is administered only on the first and third day postexposure.