It is also 100 percent preventable with the vaccinations. Once symptoms develop, it's too late to do anything other than offer supportive care to the victim. Rabies is transmitted in the saliva of infected wild or domestic animals and can enter the body when the skin is broken. The vaccine regimen starts with a dose of human rabies immune globulin, and is followed by five doses of the vaccine. The vaccine is given in five shots during a four-week period.
Treatment starts as soon as the exposure is suspected.
Typically, the decision to vaccinate is made between the victim and a physician. The epidemiologist said the rabies vaccine is very safe to humans, and very effective. Allen was exposed to rabies from a racoon that wandered into his yard and seemed perfectly normal and very friendly. When feeding it a cookie one day, the raccoon's teeth scratched Allen, drawing blood. The raccoon stayed around the house, and several days later I noticed it was acting strange so we penned it up.