Will standing bare-foot on rat's blood cause rabies?

Question

Hello doctor,

I stood on a rat's blood that my assistant killed about half an hour after the incident. It was hit on the head so I presume there was some saliva in the blood, I was obviously bare-footed and have no open sores on my feet but do have cracked heels. Is there any way I could have contracted rabies if the animal had been rabid?

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I understand that you are worried but the chances of you contracting rabies from a pool of blood while may or may not have saliva of a bat which might or might not have been rabid are quite slim. However, if your heels are cracked enough to have caused an opening in the skin then I think you could get a rabies vaccine course, just to be on the safe side assuming that the bat was stray. Do not be scared as the sole is far away from the brain so, in the unlikely case of the virus being there, it is still not too late to get the vaccine. I hope this helps. Thank you and take care. Regards.