Emergencies – Animal Bite.
In Lothian we aim to provide gold standard travel medicine services through our team of Clinical Nurse Specialists and Travel Medicine Consultants.
On this page you will find advice and information on what to do in travel-related emergencies.
EMERGENCIES – ANIMAL BITE
Treatment after a bite or scratch
If you have been bitten, scratched or licked by an animal in a high risk country or that might have rabies, you will need specialist medical treatment to stop you getting rabies. This is called post-exposure treatment.
Post-exposure treatment involves:
- cleaning and disinfecting the wound immediately
- a course of the rabies vaccine – you’ll need to have 4 doses over a month if you have not been vaccinated against rabies before, or 2 doses a few days apart if you have
- in some cases, a medicine called immunoglobulin is given into and around the wound – this provides immediate but short-term protection if there’s a significant chance you have been infected
Treatment should be started quickly, ideally within a few hours of being bitten or scratched.
If this happens while you’re abroad, get local medical help immediately. Do not wait until you have returned to the UK.
If you have already returned to the UK without getting medical advice, it’s still a good idea to get help, even if it’s been several weeks since you were bitten or scratched.
Post-exposure treatment is nearly 100% effective if it’s started before any symptoms of rabies appear.
Treatment in Lothian
Please note that post exposure Rabies treatment cannot be provided by the pre-travel team or clinics. It is administered by a specialist unit in the Western General Hospital.
Normal process 9am – 7pm:
To arrange treatment or continuation of vaccines given after a bite please ask your healthcare provider (GP, Minor Injuries, 111) to call the Western General Hospital and ask for the “ID registrar on call” who will arrange for you to be seen at the Regional Infectious Disease Unit. It is useful to have all the patients’ personal details as well as dates of the bite and any treatment started when calling for a referral.
In the case of emergency / immediate high risk rabies risk exposure overnight (7pm – 9am ONLY) please call NHS 111.
Health professionals can view the full referral process on RefHelp Animal Bites and Rabies Risk – RefHelp (nhslothian.scot) or Green book (ch 27, p12 Rabies green book chapter 27 (publishing.service.gov.uk)
Regional Infectious Disease Unit
Western General Hospital
Crewe Road South
Edinburgh
EH4 2XU
Telephone: 0131 537 1000
Travellers are welcome to call us to make an appointment.
As a busy service we appreciate being informed of any cancellation or expected late arrival. We may not be able to accommodate delayed arrivals within the same clinic/day.
Please see “find a clinic” section for directions and journey planners.
ORIGINAL GRAPHICS COURTESY OF FREEPICK.COM & FREEICONS.IO
