6 ms·

Luckily odds of actually getting it seem pretty low overall given the CDC increase referencing 3 deaths as an increase. But still, one of those terrifying ways

Luckily odds of actually getting it seem pretty low overall given the CDC increase referencing 3 deaths as an increase. But still, one of those terrifying ways to go. On a positive note, the act of being alive is also a ticking time bomb that inevitably leads to death as well, so there is that!

thatguy0900 5y ago
As mentioned in the previous comment,its less because the odds are low and more becuase the US treats basically every animal bite as a rabies case. It takes a very extreme containment method to achieve low deaths
em500 5y ago
Addressed in the parent post: >> Only x number of people have died in the U.S. in the past x years. Rabies is really rare. > Yes, deaths from rabies are rare in the United States, in the neighborhood of 2-3 per year. This does not mean rabies is rare. The reason that mortality is so rare in the U.S. is due to a very aggressive treatment protocol of all bite cases in the United States: If you are bitten, and you cannot identify the animal that bit you, or the animal were to die shortly after biting you, you will get post exposure treatment. That is the protocol. > Post exposure is very effective (almost 100%) if done before you become symptomatic. It involves a series of immunoglobulin shots - many of which are at the site of the bite - as well as the vaccine given over the span of a month. (Fun fact - if you're vaccinated for rabies, you may be able to be an immunoglobulin donor!) > In countries without good treatment protocols rabies is rampant. India alone sees 20,000 deaths from rabies PER YEAR.
- watwut 5y ago
  Sounds like multiple reasons not to worry and keep doing what you want doing if you live in USA
- sokoloff 5y ago
  Unfun fact: the rabies immune globulin shots are by far the most painful shot I've ever experienced and being the size that I am, I received what I think was 7 of them in quick succession. I also got the 4-shot vaccine series, which felt like any other vaccine (basically painless), but the RIG was like having liquid fire injected into my Forrest Gump region.
  - khazhoux 5y ago
    Huh. I had immunoglobulin shots ("It's just like maple syrup!" the nurse told me) in my butt back in college, and I don't remember it hurting at all. It was just an odd sensation of so much heavy fluid being injected so slowly. Mostly, I remember it being funny every time I went back and presented my bare butt to the nurse.
    - mpmpmpmp 5y ago
      I got bit on my finger tip by a feral cat and had to get the first dose injection in the fingertip. It was not pleasant. The rest of them were in the butt which was not great but nothing compared to the fingertip. The cat did die and my parents were able to send it in and luckily the tests for the cat came back negative after a couple of days and I did not have to get all the doses.
  - newsbinator 5y ago
    I had immunoglobulin + rabies vax in my arms and butt and it was just a standard vaccination kind of discomfort. I don't remember thinking "omg pain" at all.
  - joecool1029 5y ago
    Weird. I had the immunoglobulin shots, two in the legs, two in buttocks. Despite the syringes being larger than ones I usually see for vaccine it was nothing too memorable. The intramuscular shots (J&J for covid and Tdap honestly hurt more). The ~$17k bill the hospital sent me was the most painful part of the rabies post-exposure process to deal with, not any of the shots.
- admiral33 5y ago
  Why can't we just get the vaccine before exposure? I'm sure there's a good reason just curious
  - jopsen 5y ago
    If it only affects 2-3 people per year in the US, then is it worth it? Might it not be better to reduce rabies in wildlife, or spend the money on other kinds of vaccinations?
    - maxerickson 5y ago
      It effects ~50,000 people per year (in the US). It fails a couple. I guess there is a lot to account for when you start talking about preventative vaccination instead of post exposure vaccination.
  - toomuchtodo 5y ago
    There is an mRNA prophylactic version in clinical trials: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03713086 https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03713086
  - _Microft 5y ago
    People who work with bats or are otherwise at risk of coming in contact with rabies are actually getting the vaccination like they get others (note: in Germany).
    - klipt 5y ago
      I bet you could make a lot of money advertizing an elective rabies vaccine to people searching for rabies on YouTube. They might not ultimately need it, but if they're willing to pony up some money for peace of mind, why not?
  - HWR_14 5y ago
    The rabies vaccine needs fairly frequent renewal (more than once a year). People likely to contract it (vets, pest control, zookeepers, etc) get them. Others get post exposure treatment that is very effective.
- ManBlanket 5y ago
  To what end then is it useful to drum up public fear of rabies in bats, if what actually leads to deaths seems to be economical problems? People only react stupidly to fear mongering. If you want a delightful read, the Merlin Tuttle Bat Conservancy has collected stories about how Fauchi's baseless, "idk, probably bats" reasoning has led to the extermination of entire populations. https://www.merlintuttle.org/ https://www.merlintuttle.org/ If you truly must live your life in fear of dying, look no further than heart disease and car accidents.
  - userbinator 5y ago
    If you truly must live your life in fear of dying, look no further than heart disease and car accidents. Those are not as scary because there are plenty of survivors, in various states of health. Rabies is notable for being a very binary and decisive disease with little advance warning or treatment.
    - b112 5y ago
      I think, some creatures are just trouble for our species. Mosquitoes are the deadliest for us, but it seems that bats, with high instances of rabies, and things like covid, are right up there too. It is sadly funny that we manage to extinct the useful, and mostly beneficial creatures around us, but our "enemies" just exist rampantly and laugh.
- MobileVet 5y ago
  Those shots are not cheap either. We found a bat had been in our bedroom at night when we visited my in laws and I saw it fly over us several times. They didn’t catch it so we didn’t know if the bat had rabies. We hadn’t been bitten, but you can get the virus dropped in your eyes or nose and it is basically 100% fatal. With those odds, you go through the 3 shot protocol. It was basically $1k per shot for each of us. We have solid insurance but they were not covered because they are so rare.
  - djhn 5y ago
    Surely covering rare events is the whole point of insurance! (I know US medical insurance is different)
    - dave_sullivan 5y ago
      Americans have been fucking themselves for so long that they don't even care if it makes sense anymore.
  - option 5y ago
    That sounds ridiculously cheap. I got bitten by the squirrel and went to the emergency room only to be told that they don’t do rabies shots after squirrel bites. The price I paid for 15 min visit? - $3,500.

thatguy0900 5y ago

As mentioned in the previous comment,its less because the odds are low and more becuase the US treats basically every animal bite as a rabies case. It takes a very extreme containment method to achieve low deaths

em500 5y ago

Addressed in the parent post: >> Only x number of people have died in the U.S. in the past x years. Rabies is really rare. > Yes, deaths from rabies are rare in the United States, in the neighborhood of 2-3 per year. This does not mean rabies is rare. The reason that mortality is so rare in the U.S. is due to a very aggressive treatment protocol of all bite cases in the United States: If you are bitten, and you cannot identify the animal that bit you, or the animal were to die shortly after biting you, you will get post exposure treatment. That is the protocol. > Post exposure is very effective (almost 100%) if done before you become symptomatic. It involves a series of immunoglobulin shots - many of which are at the site of the bite - as well as the vaccine given over the span of a month. (Fun fact - if you're vaccinated for rabies, you may be able to be an immunoglobulin donor!) > In countries without good treatment protocols rabies is rampant. India alone sees 20,000 deaths from rabies PER YEAR.

watwut 5y ago
Sounds like multiple reasons not to worry and keep doing what you want doing if you live in USA
sokoloff 5y ago
Unfun fact: the rabies immune globulin shots are by far the most painful shot I've ever experienced and being the size that I am, I received what I think was 7 of them in quick succession. I also got the 4-shot vaccine series, which felt like any other vaccine (basically painless), but the RIG was like having liquid fire injected into my Forrest Gump region.
- khazhoux 5y ago
  Huh. I had immunoglobulin shots ("It's just like maple syrup!" the nurse told me) in my butt back in college, and I don't remember it hurting at all. It was just an odd sensation of so much heavy fluid being injected so slowly. Mostly, I remember it being funny every time I went back and presented my bare butt to the nurse.
  - mpmpmpmp 5y ago
    I got bit on my finger tip by a feral cat and had to get the first dose injection in the fingertip. It was not pleasant. The rest of them were in the butt which was not great but nothing compared to the fingertip. The cat did die and my parents were able to send it in and luckily the tests for the cat came back negative after a couple of days and I did not have to get all the doses.
- newsbinator 5y ago
  I had immunoglobulin + rabies vax in my arms and butt and it was just a standard vaccination kind of discomfort. I don't remember thinking "omg pain" at all.
- joecool1029 5y ago
  Weird. I had the immunoglobulin shots, two in the legs, two in buttocks. Despite the syringes being larger than ones I usually see for vaccine it was nothing too memorable. The intramuscular shots (J&J for covid and Tdap honestly hurt more). The ~$17k bill the hospital sent me was the most painful part of the rabies post-exposure process to deal with, not any of the shots.
admiral33 5y ago
Why can't we just get the vaccine before exposure? I'm sure there's a good reason just curious
- jopsen 5y ago
  If it only affects 2-3 people per year in the US, then is it worth it? Might it not be better to reduce rabies in wildlife, or spend the money on other kinds of vaccinations?
  - maxerickson 5y ago
    It effects ~50,000 people per year (in the US). It fails a couple. I guess there is a lot to account for when you start talking about preventative vaccination instead of post exposure vaccination.
- toomuchtodo 5y ago
  There is an mRNA prophylactic version in clinical trials: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03713086 https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03713086
- _Microft 5y ago
  People who work with bats or are otherwise at risk of coming in contact with rabies are actually getting the vaccination like they get others (note: in Germany).
  - klipt 5y ago
    I bet you could make a lot of money advertizing an elective rabies vaccine to people searching for rabies on YouTube. They might not ultimately need it, but if they're willing to pony up some money for peace of mind, why not?
- HWR_14 5y ago
  The rabies vaccine needs fairly frequent renewal (more than once a year). People likely to contract it (vets, pest control, zookeepers, etc) get them. Others get post exposure treatment that is very effective.
ManBlanket 5y ago
To what end then is it useful to drum up public fear of rabies in bats, if what actually leads to deaths seems to be economical problems? People only react stupidly to fear mongering. If you want a delightful read, the Merlin Tuttle Bat Conservancy has collected stories about how Fauchi's baseless, "idk, probably bats" reasoning has led to the extermination of entire populations. https://www.merlintuttle.org/ https://www.merlintuttle.org/ If you truly must live your life in fear of dying, look no further than heart disease and car accidents.
- userbinator 5y ago
  If you truly must live your life in fear of dying, look no further than heart disease and car accidents. Those are not as scary because there are plenty of survivors, in various states of health. Rabies is notable for being a very binary and decisive disease with little advance warning or treatment.
  - b112 5y ago
    I think, some creatures are just trouble for our species. Mosquitoes are the deadliest for us, but it seems that bats, with high instances of rabies, and things like covid, are right up there too. It is sadly funny that we manage to extinct the useful, and mostly beneficial creatures around us, but our "enemies" just exist rampantly and laugh.
MobileVet 5y ago
Those shots are not cheap either. We found a bat had been in our bedroom at night when we visited my in laws and I saw it fly over us several times. They didn’t catch it so we didn’t know if the bat had rabies. We hadn’t been bitten, but you can get the virus dropped in your eyes or nose and it is basically 100% fatal. With those odds, you go through the 3 shot protocol. It was basically $1k per shot for each of us. We have solid insurance but they were not covered because they are so rare.
- djhn 5y ago
  Surely covering rare events is the whole point of insurance! (I know US medical insurance is different)
  - dave_sullivan 5y ago
    Americans have been fucking themselves for so long that they don't even care if it makes sense anymore.
- option 5y ago
  That sounds ridiculously cheap. I got bitten by the squirrel and went to the emergency room only to be told that they don’t do rabies shots after squirrel bites. The price I paid for 15 min visit? - $3,500.