The expert listed the most common ways of infecting a person with rabies

Most often, rabies infection occurs through a bite or scratch from an infected animal. This was announced on April 21 by Lyubov Semeykina, Head of the Epidemiology Department at the Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology in Primorsky Krai.

"The main sources of human rabies infection in the Russian Federation are dogs and cats, which in turn become infected from wild carnivorous animals — foxes, raccoon dogs, hedgehogs and others, as well as from rodents. The majority of pet injuries are caused by dogs — about 56%," the expert said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

She stressed that the disease develops in infected people as a result of overheating, alcohol consumption, as well as mental and physical stress.

Semeykina added that the characteristics of rabies include a long incubation period, damage to the nervous system and mortality. According to her, 14 people died from rabies in Primorsky Krai from 1972 to 2025.

Degree of risk: Russians refuse to get vaccinated against rabies

In some regions, the number of "draft dodgers" reaches 34% — they do not want to follow a diet and forget about alcohol.

Veterinarian Evgeny Tsyplenkov told on April 15 why it is important not to skip the annual revaccination of a pet. He noted that there is no shortage of vaccines now, so animal owners can safely come and get vaccinated. The veterinarian also explained where the fears of rabies vaccinations came from and why they are irrelevant today. He said that until 1995, a tissue vaccine created from the brains of infected animals was used, which often caused allergies and complications.