A dog presents deceased to your clinic with foam coming from the mouth and his neck appears swollen. The owner says the dog had
been sick for a few days and then had a seizure and died. They live on the outskirts of town on some acreage, and the dogs roam free on the property. What disease would you be concerned about? (Hint: You need to wear protective clothing before handling this pet)
The best answer to the question: What disease would you be concerned about? Would be: Rabies.
Explanation:
Rabies is a viral disease that is caused by the lyssaviruses, or better known a the rabies virus. It is an almost-always fatal disease that attacks the CNS not just in animals, but in humans as well. The disease can be contracted not just from an animal bite, but also by the contact with infected saliva from a carrier animal. In this case, the dog´s saliva and foam has become a carrier of the virus and if you touch that saliva, the virus will infect you if you either have an open wound on your skin, a simple scratch, or if you bring your hands to your mouth, or eyes. From then on, the virus will infect and spread to your CNS through your peripheral nerves and between one and three months, all the signs and symptoms will fully develop. In humans rabies is almost always deadly.
