Possible for Rabies to be spread this way?!
Question:
Possible for Rabies to be spread this way?
Currently writing a paper on Rabies that I plan to hand out this September around my town and I'm trying to get as many forms of infection down as possible.
Say a Dog possibly finds a bat at night and picks it up in it's mouth. The owner hears the Bat squeaks but doesn't see a Bat after going out to investigate. The owner would then pick up the dog and set him in the house(assuming it's a small breed). Knowing that a bit of saliva from the could-be Bat was on the dog, the owner washes his hands for a few seconds in hot water but doesn't dry them and then touches a door or another object; would it be possible for rabies to be spread to others that way?(even though no infection has ever been documented to have come from saliva on a surface).
Be sure to mark your calendars for Rabies Awareness Day on September 8th. Get the word out to those who second-mind Rabies as just another treatable bug.
Answers:
The dog has definitely been exposed to rabies. If the skin on the man's hands is intact he is not infected. If any saliva entered into a chapped area he could be infected but the risk is quite low. Nobody is going to get rabies from the doorknob.