Scared of rabies from sick dog with expired vaccine, no bite?

Question

My family was around a sick dog this weekend. It got sick Friday and died Monday. We're scared the dog died of rabies. Although dog was vaccinated we're told and rabies expired may 26. 2017. We pet the dog. Licked our necks. Dog was close enough to faces to breathe in them. dog was drooling a bit and it's possible we touched our face or wiped tears away during that. Absolutely not bitten. Can we get rabies these ways or is it even possible the dog could've had rabies?

Jessica Keay, DVM · Accepted Answer

If the dog's rabies vaccine expired this recently the dog should still be protected against rabies, as we believe the vaccine probably is effective even past the expiration date, particularly this close to the date. If the dog was showing signs of neurological disease, this could be more concerning, but if you do not have open wounds on your skin then transmission is much less likely. Most transmission occurs via bite wounds, though there are rare cases of saliva getting into the eyes nose or mouth. If the dog was showing signs of rabies, then the head can be submitted for rabies testing if the dog hasn't been cremated. If the dog was under veterinary supervision for his illness, the veterinarian can let you know if any of his symptoms were suspicious for rabies. The dog's veterinarian is the one to talk to about his vaccination status as well. If he had been vaccinated regularly for years then it is less concerning. If he had only ever had one vaccine in his life, then this increases his risk of exposure. Here is an article on rabies FYI: https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/transmission/exposure.html http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=601

Scared of rabies from sick dog with expired vaccine, no bite?

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