My vaccinated pet dog bit me: do I still need a rabies injection?

The NCDC guidelines are direct on this. Animals that are vaccinated against rabies do not get or pass on the disease, but animal vaccines can fail because of how they were given, an inadequate dose, poor vaccine quality or the animal's poor health. So the history of a rabies vaccine does not guarantee the dog is not rabid, and in the absence of a laboratory antibody result, a vaccinated dog cannot be presumed protected. The guideline's conclusion is that post-exposure treatment should be given irrespective of the dog's vaccination status.

The stakes explain the caution. The WHO says that once symptoms appear, rabies is virtually 100% fatal, and that deaths are preventable with prompt post-exposure treatment. In India, the NCDC says dogs cause about 95% of human rabies cases.

Late is still better than never. The guidelines say people who come for treatment even months after a possible exposure should be assessed and treated as if it had just happened, and that wounds should be washed even when the person reports late.

The 10-day observation applies to dogs and cats only. The NCDC explains that an animal infected with rabies will usually show signs, or die, within 1 to 7 days, which is the basis of the 10 days. It is clear that observation alone is not enough: treatment for the person starts straight away, and the animal is watched at the same time.

If the dog stays healthy for the full 10 days, the guidelines allow the doctor to modify the treatment. Depending on the type of course being given, it may be stopped or converted, and with some courses it is completed whatever happens to the dog. Only your doctor can say which applies to you, so keep every appointment until they tell you otherwise.

If you have had a full course of rabies vaccine before, tell the doctor and show the record. The guidelines say people with documented earlier vaccination who are exposed again still need a shorter course, decided by the doctor.

Keep the dog at home, away from other animals and people outside the family, and watch it closely for 10 days. The Merck Veterinary Manual says a healthy dog that bites a person should be confined and observed for 10 days, and that any illness in that time needs a vet straight away. Note any change in behaviour, eating, drinking or swallowing, and tell both your vet and your doctor if you see one.

Then bring its vaccines up to date. The NCDC advises keeping rabies vaccination current for every pet and supervising pets outdoors so they do not come into close contact with possibly rabid street animals. Your vet decides the timing, and the dog vaccination guide and the vaccine due date checker help you keep track. If the bite was out of character, ask your vet about pain or illness, which can make a gentle dog snap.