Prophylaxis against rabies in children exposed to bats

Abstract

Rabies has become a disease of increasing concern. One reason is that bat variant rabies is a more common cause of human disease, with 1-2 deaths per year in the United States. Bat bites are much more difficult to document than bites from larger animals. Deaths from rabies encephalitis have remained undiagnosed until postmortem examination. Prophylaxis includes a series of 5 vaccinations during 28 days. Vaccine efficacy has been documented, even in young children.