and animal bites are among the top five reasons why children are taken to emergency rooms.

Rabies is primarily a disease of children, because they are most often the ones that get bitten, due to their lack of understanding

about how to act around animals. Most young children do not know what rabies is

and therefore are unaware that animals can transmit this disease.

Many times, children that were nipped or scratched by a potentially rabid animal may not tell their parents.

Educating our children about rabies and how to treat animals is an important first step to help keep them safe.

Teach your child to stay away from pets they are not familiar with and not to go near wild animals.

Be sure to keep pets in an enclosed environment when children are around.

If a bite does occur, wash the wound with soap and water, and seek medical attention immediately.

If caught early enough, post-exposure prophylaxis, which includes thoroughly washing the entire wound,

injecting rabies immunoglobulin into the wound area

and a series of four or five injections of vaccine in the upper arm, will prevent rabies.

To help prevent rabies, be sure to spay and neuter pets so they're less likely to wander

and come into contact with wildlife and other unvaccinated stray animals. By keeping our pets vaccinated against rabies, and educating our children about how to respect and treat the animals in their lives

and by letting them know what to do if they are bitten

we can protect ourselves and our families against rabies, the deadliest disease known to mankind.