Milford chronicle. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1878-1974, 1944-09-08
HAVE DOG BITES TREATED AT
ONCE Is BOARD OF HEALTH
WARNING.

CONTINUED from FIRST Pase)
tory, State House, Dover, for
examination.
Care Of Bites
4 As in all cases of animal bites,
the wound of a bitten person
should be cleaned out and cauter-
ICED. by a physician as quickly as
possible. II the animal is rabid
(madl the Pasteur treatment
should follow.
In cases where a doctor is absO-
lutely unavailable, the Board
suggests that the only home reme-
dy which will do the least bit of
good against rabies is iodine. Work
it deeply into the dog bite and the
surrounding tissues But Still Go
To A Physician AS Soon AS
Possible.
That the Pasteur treatment is
widely known and used now for
persons bitten by dogs probably
accounts for the fact that only 2
people in Delaware have died from
rabies within the last decade.
The fact that it takes a COM
paratively long time for rabies to
develop 10 days or more) makes
pssible the prevention of the
disease after the virus enters the
body. Doctors use the Pasteur
treatment, a protective measure
consisting of a series of inocula-
tions with a special rabies vaccine.
This prevents the development of
the disease in the great majority
of cases If it is started soon
enough after infection and is con-
tinued long enough to give ade-
quate protection. The treatment is
of no value after the symptoms of
rabies appear.
Cause of Rabies
Rabies is caused by a virus"
which attacks the brain and spinal
cord. An animal suffering from
rabies has the virus present in its
saliva. If a person is bitten by a
iabid ("mad'D animal the saliva,
loaded with virus, enters his body
through the bite. or it may enter
the body through any other wound
i'm the skin which is exposed to the
saliva.
The virus enters the brain along
the nerves. The closer the wound
is to the brain, the more quickly
the virus will reach it. For exam |
pie, rabies develop early after bites |
en- the head and face than on the |
hand, arm or leg and treatment |
should be commenced more quick |
ly.
Not everyone develops rabies
after having been bitten by a rabid
animal or after wound contact with !
it's saliva. But no one who has once
shown symptoms of rabies has ever
recovered.
Types of Rabies
There are 2 types of rabies-the
furious. and the dumb, or par
lytic, type. A dog suffering from
the furious" type alternates
pediods of excitement with period
of repOse. AS the disease pro-
crosses the dog becomes vicious
and bites anyone in its way.
A dog with the dumb type of
rabies shows about the same symp-
toms as one which is choked, be-
cause its throat and tongue are
paralyzed. Persons are warned not
TO examine the mouths and tbroats
Of dogs in this condition in case
they should be rabid and the hands
should be scraped on the animals
teeth. fi.-
Care With Dog Heads
If a dog is killed, or dies under
the State Board of
Health asks that the head of the
animal be packed in ice to preserve
I and sent Immediately to the
Boards laboratory in the State
House at Dover, in order that it
nay be tested to determine
whether or not rabies are present.
If it is necessary to shoot an
lnimal for the protection of people.
t should not be shot through the
lead. since this may interfere with
he laboratory examination of the
rain.
So far this year, the laboratory
II the Board has examined 8 dog ,
md 8 cat heads. only one animal of ,
which proved to have rabies.
mother head had been kept a .
week before shipping and was too
ecOmpOSed to examine