Dog Rabies Diagnosis
It is of great importance to establish definitely the presence or absence of rabies infection in dogs that
have bitten people, so that proper measures can be taken. Since the diagnosis of the disease can be based on both clinical and laboratory examinations, it inessential that the dog be kept under observation by a qualified veterinarian. Since rabies is a fatal disease and an affected animal will shortly die, the brain can then be subjected to laboratory examination for the presence of special changes, which are indicated by the presence of Negron bodies in certain portions. This valuable laboratory diagnostic procedure was developed through the work of an Italian scientist named Negron, who first called attention to the presence of these bodies in the brain of rabid dogs. Although the bodies are specific in the diagnosis of rabies, they may in certain cases be few in number, particularly if the animals have been destroyed in the early stages of the disease. For this reason it inadvisable to allow the disease to progress to its termination or to well-advanced stage so that the laboratory diagnosis can be conclusive.
Since it has been reported that the virus of rabies may be in the saliva of a rabid dog 8 days before the animal shows any clinical evidence of the disease, it is important that dogs suspected of having rabies or dogs that have bitten people be held in strict quarantine unsuitable strong, tight quarters for a period of 2 weeks in order that correct diagnosis may be made. It is essential that the quarters in which the animal is confined be well-made and escape-proof, since animals developing rabies will make extraordinary efforts to gain their freedom. If a rabid dog is not properly housed, it may work its way out and disappear, to die some days later at a distant point without ever being identified; and this would make the handling of case of a person bitten by the dog more difficult. The fact that the dog had escaped would in itself be some indication that it might have been rabid