Is Rabies Vaccination Required After Being Scratched By A Dog?

Posted on Mon, 25 Jul 2016

Question: Dog scratched my sons hand. There was no blood and puncture but the teeth touched his hand. This was on 01 July in evening. We got him a shot done immediately and second one has been done today. The prescription says next is due on 7 July and last one on 28 July. Are only 4 doses OK or are 5 necessary

Answered by Dr. Anshul Varshney (33 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Should receive the complete course

Detailed Answer:
Welcome to Healthcaremagic.
Hi, I am Dr Anshul Varshney , I have read your query in detail , I understand your concern.

The exposure your son had is considered as low risk exposure.

The usual doses of Rabies vaccination are given on Day 0, 3, 7, 14 , 21 or 28.
Since he is receiving the 4 doses, i would say, why not to give him the complete course.

So, my suggestion would be to discuss again with your doctor to add up one shot on day 14 of exposure.

Yes, we do offer 3 vaccine course on day 0, 3, and 7 , if we have a constant watch over the dog, and the dog is pretty well and survived after 10th day of exposure. In such cases, we can dismiss the further doses for vaccination.

This is my personal opinion based on details available here. If you still have any other query, you may please ask me.
Stay Healthy.
Dr Anshul Varshney , MD

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar