Vet advises immediate 15-minute washing after dog bites

Veterinary expert Dr Mutiu Oladele-Bukola has advised people bitten by dogs to wash the wound immediately with soap and running water for at least 15 minutes, saying prompt action can help prevent rabies. Oladele-Bukola, of the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training at Obafemi Awolowo University’s Moor Plantation in Ibadan, spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria ahead of World Rabies Day on September 28. He said the first priority after a bite was to move away safely from the animal and then begin washing the wound.

He warned victims not to apply pepper, herbs, chemicals, acids or other irritants, and not to tightly bandage or seal the wound. The expert urged victims to visit a health facility immediately, even when the injury appeared minor. Medical assessment, he said, should consider post-exposure prophylaxis, rabies immunoglobulin for severe exposures, tetanus protection and treatment for possible bacterial infection.

“A dog bite does not automatically mean rabies,” Oladele-Bukola said, but he stressed that suspected exposures required urgent assessment. He added that once clinical rabies develops, it is virtually 100 per cent fatal. He cited a reported case in Ibadan in which a stray dog bit five people on the same day and was later confirmed to have rabies.

He also recalled the death of a five-year-old boy who did not receive post-exposure treatment after a stray-dog bite. Oladele-Bukola identified mass dog vaccination as central to prevention and said other measures included responsible ownership, reporting bites, surveillance and access to affordable vaccines. Under Oyo State’s Dog Law 2020, he said, dogs must be vaccinated from three months and annually thereafter.