What the vaccine does and does not do
Rabies is a virus carried in the saliva of infected mammals - dogs overwhelmingly, but also cats, monkeys and bats. It travels up the nerves to the brain, and once symptoms appear it is effectively always fatal. There is no treatment at that stage anywhere in the world.
The pre-travel course does not make you immune, and this is the part travellers most often misunderstand. What it does is change what you need after a bite. Without it you need a series of injections plus rabies immunoglobulin - a blood product that is scarce, expensive, and genuinely unavailable in large parts of the world. With the course behind you, you need two further doses of ordinary vaccine and no immunoglobulin at all.
Why that distinction decides the trip
If you are bitten in a city with a good hospital, you will probably get what you need. If you are bitten on day four of a trek, or on an island with a ferry twice a week, the immunoglobulin may mean a flight to another country - and the clock is running.
Being vaccinated beforehand removes that scramble. It is the single strongest argument for the course, and it is why we raise rabies for itineraries that look low-risk on paper but are a long way from a hospital.
What to do if you are bitten or licked anyway
Wash the wound with soap under running water for a full fifteen minutes. It feels excessive and it measurably reduces the risk - this is the most useful thing anyone has ever been told about rabies.
Then apply iodine or alcohol if you have it, and seek medical help the same day regardless of your vaccination status and regardless of how trivial the wound looks. A lick on broken skin counts. Tell them you have had pre-exposure vaccine, because it changes what they give you.
- Wash with soap and running water for 15 minutes
- Disinfect with iodine or alcohol if available
- Get medical attention the same day, every time
- Say whether you have had the pre-travel course - it changes the treatment
- Keep your vaccination record with your passport, not at home
Two brands, two prices
We hold Rabipur and Verorab. Both are licensed cell-culture vaccines on the same three-dose schedule, and they differ in price rather than in what they do - our list publishes both so the choice is yours rather than ours.
Availability of rabies vaccine in the UK has been intermittent in recent years. Call your clinic before travelling in to be vaccinated, so we can confirm stock rather than have you make the journey for nothing.