A few days ago a post was flying around social media about garlic curing and preventing rabies. You read that right. Someone on twitter, claiming to be a certified and licensed herbalist, posted “In case you get bitten by a stray dog and you want to treat yourself of rabies: grind garlic and press juice into water. Drink the juice every morning and evening for two weeks. You will be okay.” For those that believe this… enjoy your rabies and quick but painful death!
Rabies
I thought this may be the perfect opportunity to discuss rabies. Rabies is a viral zoonotic disease that will cause death in humans and many animal species. This disease is transmitted through bites or scratches from an infected animal. The World Health Organization states there is a 100% death rate without medical intervention PRIOR to symptoms beginning. What does this mean? If you or your pet are bitten by a suspected rabid animal, you need to seek medical attention immediately in order to survive. Not tomorrow, not next week, IMMEDIATELY.
Rabies infections are rare, only claiming approximately 10 human lives in the US yearly. Globally, there are an estimated 59,000 human deaths yearly due to rabies infections. Throughout history, only 20 human rabies cases in the entire world were documented to have survived after symptoms appeared. Think about that. This number doesn’t even qualify as significant. Those survivors must have had super-human genes.
Now go back to the “herbalists” recommendations. They advised you to drink garlic juice twice daily for two weeks after a bite from a suspected rabid animal. The incubation period for rabies in the human body is anywhere between a few days to several years. The incubation period of rabies in your dog or cat is somewhere between 1 week and 1 year. So if you drink your garlic juice or give this to your pet twice daily for two weeks and decide to not seek medical attention immediately… symptoms may have already developed and your or your pets fate is sealed. Death awaits you with open arms.
In animals, once symptoms of rabies appear, humane euthanasia is the only option. Infection is confirmed postmortem with examination of the brain. It’s not a pleasant task for your veterinary staff. We avoid this process like it’s the plague. However, if an animal bites a human prior to euthanasia, protocol is to remove the head and send it to the state for rabies testing. Please remember this when your veterinary staff needs to place a muzzle on your pet in order to get an IV catheter in or to sedate your pet prior to euthanasia. At that moment, they only have your pet and your emotional wellbeing in mind. Your vet staff do not want to have to explain to the grieving owner that now they have to follow protocol and remove the pet’s head. In the 10+ years I have been a veterinary technician, I remember half a dozen or more times where clients have called us requesting euthanasia for a dog or cat that keeps biting people and breaking skin. Our response is almost always to call animal control and follow their quarantine protocols prior to euthanasia, so we can avoid removing the pet’s head postmortem. In my career, I have only had to assist with this process a few times. Each instance, the situation included a severely aggressive dog where quarantine was not an option, or a pet that got into a fight with a wild animal and the wounds were too severe to treat. Explaining rabies protocol to an emotionally distraught owner is one of the worst conversations I have ever had to have.
Rabies Prevention
So why attempt to treat a completely preventable disease? That’s right, rabies is preventable with a vaccine prior to exposure. Every state in the United States requires dogs and cats 12 weeks of age or older to be vaccinated against rabies. There are even clinics in the US to help vaccinate stray or feral dog/cat populations in southern states. Why? Because more than 95% of human rabies cases around the world were connected to dog or cat bites. While in the US, 90% of human rabies cases are linked to wildlife. Obviously, rabies vaccination laws for pets are working well in the US for prevention.
Many veterinarians will space out your pets vaccines to align with this law, so your pet may receive its first rabies vaccine as early as 12 weeks old. If your pet accidentally receives a rabies vaccine too young (which has happened when clients made a mistake giving the vet staff the wrong date-of-birth) then they are considered still at risk and the vaccine would need to be repeated a few weeks later. By law, your pet must then receive a booster rabies vaccine 1 year later, then every 3 years after that. Studies have shown that rabies vaccinations provide immunity for 5-7 years, however laws need to change before your veterinarian can decide to hold off on this vaccination for your pet. So expect to bring your pet in for vaccination every 3 years.
Back To Garlic
Back to the garlic claim. There are literally ZERO studies proving garlic can prevent or cure rabies. In fact, 50 articles were reviewed on traditional remedies for treating and preventing rabies and not one of them proved effective. In controlled experiments with mice, not one traditional remedy proved effective in treating or preventing rabies infection. So no…. garlic will not cure your rabies infection. Seek professional medical attention at your local emergency room if you or your pet have come in contact or are bitten or scratched by a suspected rabid animal.