Rabies vaccine by Dr Mendelsohn MD
Regular readers are aware of my unconditional opposition to the rabies vaccine. In spite of all the horrible pictures doctors conjure up of hydrophobic patients frothing at the mouth, I am much more afraid of the documented dangers of neurologic damage and death from the vaccine. Now, a doctor from Mississagua, Ontario, Canada, has joined the opposition.
As reported in the Toronto Globe and Mail of January 28, 1988, Dr. Peter Cole, Medical Officer of Health, has refused to support tighter controls of vicious dogs. Present legislation gives the Medical Officer discretion over whether or not to order a 10-day quarantine of animals which bite humans. Now, a new law requires that any dog which bites a human must be quarantined for 30 days. Dr. Cole disagrees.
Dr. Cole also opposes compulsory rabies vaccination of household dogs and cats. He says he would not bother getting anti-rabies shots if he were bitten by a pet because there is no relationship between rabies and control of vicious dogs.
According to Dr. Cole, there is no rabies problem in Ontario: "The number of dogs and cats that contract rabies is very small, and no human has been shown to have contracted the disease, let alone died from it, for well over 20 years."
Dr. Cole says he wouldn’t worry even if he were bitten by a pet and could not get the rabies vaccine, citing the fact that the disease is not as readily communicable to humans as most lay persons and doctors believe.
"In 20 years, there have been thousands of confirmed rabid animals. Hundreds of people have been exposed to bites, and not all of them have been able to get the vaccine. Yet no-one has got rabies. That should tell you something."
So, if you or your children or one of your friends happen to get bitten by a household pet, there’s no reason to rush unthinkingly for the highly controversial rabies vaccine. Instead, ask your..doctor to get in touch with Dr. Cole (who at last report still had his job) for a second opinion.