Antiserum is usually used, along with immunization, as an emergency treatment when someone has been exposed to a dangerous infection such as rabies and has not previously been immunized.
The disease is ENDEMIC in dogs and wolves in some countries; an EPIDEMIC may occasionally occur. It also occurs in foxes, coyotes and skunks, as well as in vampire bats. Thanks to QUARANTINE measures, since 1897 rabies has been rare in Great Britain, which still retains strict measures (the Rabies Act) to prevent the entry of infected animals into the country, including a six-month quarantine period and vaccination (see IMMUNISATION). This policy was relaxed somewhat in 2001 with the launch of the Pet Travel Scheme; this allows cats and dogs to enter the UK from speci?ed countries without the need for quarantine, as long as stringent conditions as to microchipping and vaccinations are met. Full details can be obtained from the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural A?airs (DEFRA) or from a veterinary surgeon engaged in operating the scheme. Six months has to elapse between vaccination against rabies and a positive blood test before the ‘pet passport’ can be issued.
Rabies is highly infectious from the bite of an animal already affected, but the chance of infection from di?erent animals varies. Thus only about one person in every four bitten by rabid dogs contracts rabies, whilst the bites of rabid wolves and cats almost invariably produce the disease.
Symptoms In animals there are two types of the disease: mad rabies and dumb rabies. In the former, the dog (or other animal) runs about, snapping at objects and other animals, unable to rest; in the latter, which is also the ?nal stage of the mad type, the limbs become paralysed and the dog crawls about or lies still.
In humans the incubation period is usually 6–8 weeks, but may be as short as ten days or as long as two years. The disease begins with mental symptoms, the person becoming irritable, restless and depressed. Fever and DYSPHAGIA follow. The irritability passes into a form of MANIA and the victim has great di?culty in swallowing either food or drink.
Treatment The best treatment is, of course, preventive. Local treatment consists of immediate, thorough and careful cleansing of the wound-surfaces and surrounding skin. This is followed by a course of rabies vaccine therapy.
Only people bitten (or in certain circumstances, licked) by a rabid animal or by one thought to be infected with rabies need treatment; this is with rabies vaccine and antiserum and one of the IMMUNOGLOBULINS. A person previously vaccinated against rabies who is subsequently bitten by a rabid animal should be given three or four doses of the vaccine. The vaccine is also used to give protection to those liable to infection, such as kennel-workers and veterinary surgeons. Those who develop the disease require intensive care with ventilatory support, despite which the death rate is very high.... rabies
Attack is sudden. If unchecked may be fatal within three days. The germ usually enters the body through a scratch or wound penetrating the skin or internal membrane. A tiny papule may appear where skin has been injured which burns and itches angrily as inflammation spreads. The lesion fills with blood and serum which dry to form bluish scabs. Symptoms of glandular infection follow along the course of the lymphatics with enlargement of the spleen.
Symptoms. Severe chill introduces high fever, rapid breathing, vomiting, stomach pains, diarrhoea and severe prostration. Heartbeat rapidly falls. Pulse is feeble. Nerve distress may end in convulsions and delirium.
While it is the belief that no cure exists apart from inoculation with antiserum, successes with plant medicines appear in medical literature. Dr W.L. Lewis, Canton, Pennsylvania, USA, records a treatment given by doctor pioneers of the ‘out-back’ where they had to do ‘everything’ in emergency. “I claim,” he writes, “to have discovered that Echinacea (cone flower) is a cure for anthrax if a physician has faith in it, and knows how to properly use it. I have used it on cases where its action has been a great wonder. Liquid extract: 1 teaspoonful every 4 hours throughout the day and night.”
This experience is sustained by Dr Finlay Ellingwood who also achieved similar success. (Ellingwood’s Therapeutist: 8, 10, 1914, 394)
To be treated by a general medical practitioner or hospital specialist. ... anthrax
Anti-D(Rh0) immunoglobulin is given routinely at intervals during normal pregnancy and at delivery.
An additional dose is also given after an amniocentesis, miscarriage, or any event in which the baby’s blood may enter the mother’s circulation.
The injected antibodies prevent the woman from forming her own antibodies against Rh-positive blood, which might adversely affect a subsequent pregnancy.
(See also haemolytic disease of the newborn; Rhesus incompatibility.)... anti-d(rh0) immunoglobulin
Applications of serological techniques include the diagnosis of infectious diseases by the identification of antibodies, the development of antiserum preparations for passive immunization, and the determination of blood groups in paternity testing and forensic investigations.... serology
It contains salts, glucose, and proteins, including antibodies.
Serum from the blood of a person who has been infected with a microorganism usually contains antibodies that can protect other people from that organism if injected into them.
Such a preparation is called an antiserum; its use forms the basis of passive immunization.... serum
Symptoms usually clear up in a few days; antihistamine drugs may hasten recovery.
In severe cases, a corticosteroid drug may be prescribed.... serum sickness
A person’s tissue type is classified in terms of their histocompatibility antigens, the most important of which are the human leukocyte antigens (HLAs), on the surface of cells. A person’s set of HLAs is inherited and unique (except for identical twins, who have the same set). Nevertheless, close relatives often have closely matching types. A person’s tissue-type is established by laboratory tests on cells from a blood sample. In one method, an antiserum containing antibodies to a particular is added to the test specimen. If the is present, it is detected by an observable colour or other change.... tissue-typing
Childhood immunization schedule... immunization
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