"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote...
I should probably ask my cat's vet about this: I've never understood why
animals need to be killed in order to test for rabies. Anyone know?



CalifBill wrote:
Time. Otherwise the animals have to be quarantined for 6 weeks or so.



That's the first of two ways to test for rabies: wait for
the animal to show the disease, or wait long enough that
it's certain he won't.

Two, examine several hundred tissue samples taken from brain
& spinal cord. It might be possible to biopsy them instead
of killing the animal, but punching out chunks of brain like
with an apple corer is generally not going to be good for you.

And the poster who stated that no human being has ever
survived rabies is correct. There are six reported cases
where people survived "the onset of rabies-like symptoms"
but they had acquired resistance through exposure... not a
recommended procedure.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/rabie...ry/nathist.htm

Rabies is a death sentence, and it's a horrible, very
painful, ugly death.

DSK