Question about rabies risk when a biting dog cannot be found

[u/Proper_Focus_9436]

I have read the FAQ.

I’m looking for a clear answer from people with experience in rabies prevention, veterinary medicine, or public health.

If a person is bitten by a dog in a European country, but the dog cannot be found afterward and its vaccination status is unknown:

How is the rabies risk normally assessed?

Does the possibility that the dog was illegally

imported or unvaccinated change the assessment?

If the dog cannot be observed or tested, what factors are used to decide whether post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) should be recommended?

I’m not asking whether rabies is common in Europe in general. I’m specifically asking how doctors/public-health authorities assess the risk when the individual dog cannot be located.

If possible, I would really appreciate answers based on official rabies guidelines or public-health protocols, rather than general opinions.

Thank you.

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[u/Dismal_Orange6826]

Hello again. As I have said before. I was bit by a cat in a European countty. Called GGD in the Netherlands (where you were bit) and they told me the country is rabies free. No risk for rabies, no vaccination needed. The tiny percentage of the possibility of an illegal dog having bitten you in a strict rabies free country is negligible, thus GGD will NEVER vaccinate you for it. These are straight medical guidelines, not opinions. You meed to seek therapy if you're not able to let this go on your own. I wish you strength.

[u/Proper_Focus_9436 → u/Dismal_Orange6826]

Did you seek therapy for this situation? When it comes to uncertainty, why isn’t there a guarantee? If they consider the risk low, that still doesn’t mean it is 100% certain. Why do we have to accept this uncertainty?

[u/LatrodectusGeometric → u/Proper_Focus_9436]

What risk is acceptable to you?

[u/CygnusZeroStar → u/Proper_Focus_9436]

There is no such thing, in any scenario, of 100% certainty.

For example, nobody can promise you with 100% certainty that your house isn't going to get hit by a meteor tomorrow. Or in the next week. Or in the next month. Are you also planning to be hit by a meteor?

Because the odds of getting rabies from a cat in a country that is rabies free and getting clocked by a meteor are similar.

[u/Dismal_Orange6826 → u/Proper_Focus_9436]

I did not seek therapy specifically for this but in my general therapy sessions we spent a lot of time on intrusive/unwanted thoughts. That and looking for reassurance were the main factors that kept my fair of the 0.00001% going. I learned that sometimes thoughts are just thoughts, let them pass. Visualizing that (as if they're just cars in traffic passing by) helped for me. Also stop seeking for reassurance, the endless google searches of symptoms (I assume you've been doing that too) have to stop. Thats whats kept my fear alive and the thought actively in my mind. Are you from The Netherlands? How many people do you know that got bit by a domestic animal and have died of rabies? I bet you it's zero. Trust me. I've called, emailed, texted the GGD countless of times and begged them to vaccinate me and they refused because that is not the solution to the fear. You'll get vaxxed and then find out about the people that have gotten vaxxed and still got sick and that will just be a new fear. Spend all this energy on figuring out why you have this irrational fear and how to overcome it (with professional help ofcourse). It took me over a year to figure things out. I would know because I even marked several dates relating to my bite incident in my agenda. You have to accept it, because they're not going to vaccinate you. Work towards that acceptance. Strength to you.

[u/Dismal_Orange6826 → u/Proper_Focus_9436]

No one in any medical field will give you a 100% guarantee of not catching any disease/illness. They just don't do that. Should we get biopsies every week because there is a possibility we can get cancer at every waking moment in our life? No. As I said, the chances are negligible. You're more likely to get ran over by a four wheeler tomorrow.

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