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How long does rabies take take to die?
A little back ground first; Yesterday, my young cat got out of the house and got a hold of a dead squirrel. It was on the shoulder of our road. By the looks of it, it had been whacked by a car. But, because of where it was, it hadn't been flattened yet. I'm sure I saw it there two days ago, so it had been sitting, and fermenting, for a whole day before Romeo found it. My question is: If a squirrel has been dead for 24 hours, is there any chance that it may still have any rabies virus alive in it? Romeo is up on his shots. I'm not too worried about him, although, I'll still keep an eye on him. Just want to know how long the rabies virus can survive in a dead critter.. if anybody knows. Thank you, Scott.
2 Answers
- 1 decade agoFavorite Answer
According to Wikipedia, it could take at least 10 days. It doesn't explicitly state this, but in the section regarding vaccines it mentions that the samples of the virus were obtained by allowing infected (dead) rabbits to dry for 5 to 10 days in order to weaken the virus.
Source(s): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabies - CrazeddogladyLv 71 decade ago
I don't think you need to worry since your cat is up on his shots (yay!). Unless Romeo got brain juices into a cut there wouldn't likely be any exposure anyway. Chances are real good that the squirrel didn't have rabies anyway unless your local health authorities have put out an advisory about rabid squirrels. Rabies isn't real common in squirrels - more in raccoons, fox, skunks and domestic dogs and cats. If you're still concerned take Romeo to the vet for a rabies booster.
