Cat bites: a source of rabies exposure in rural Tennessee.

In summary, several errors occurred with this patient. One, the patient should have been treated prophylactically for P. multocida, as most cat bites become infected. In the patient not allergic to penicillin, augmentin is the drug of choice, not erythromycin. Two, rabies postexposure prophylaxis should have been advised immediately after assessing the significance of the exposure. A feral cat must be assumed to be rabid if it cannot be quarantined for 10 days. Therefore, the bite or scratch from such an animal constitutes a significant rabies exposure. Three, initial postexposure rabies prophylaxis must include both HRIG and the first of a series of either HDCV, RVA, or PCEC.