21.3 Prevention and treatment of viral infections  (Page 6/12)

Rabies vaccine works after a bite because it takes week for the virus to travel from the site of the bite to the central nervous system, where the most severe symptoms of the disease occur. Adults are not routinely vaccinated for rabies for two reasons: first, because the routine vaccination of domestic animals makes it unlikely that humans will contract rabies from an animal bite; second, if one is bitten by a wild animal or a domestic animal that one cannot confirm has been immunized, there is still time to give the vaccine and avoid the often fatal consequences of the disease.