Don't pet stray dogs abroad

If you travel abroad, try to avoid stray dogs. Travel-medicine experts say that, although rabies is rare, a bite could expose you to the infection. A bite or scratch requires treatment immediately with a series of vaccines. Rabies travels in the nerves and causes inflammation in the brain. Once symptoms appear, the disease is almost always fatal. 

Anne Terry, a UW Medicine nurse practitioner who directs the Travel Medicine Clinic at Hall Health, explains how rabies is  prevented and treated,  and pre-travel steps to prepare for such a medical emergency.

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