If the dog that bites does not carry the rabies virus or carries the rabies virus but is not contagious, the person bitten will not have a rabies attack; if the dog that bites carries the rabies virus and is contagious, the person bitten may have a rabies attack the next day, but the likelihood of this is low. In general, even if a dog carries the rabies virus, its saliva is only contagious a few days before and during a rabies attack. So if you are bitten by a healthy dog or a dog that has not died within 10 days of attacking a person, you are generally not infected with the rabies virus. In the case of a bite from a contagious diseased dog, about 30% of rabies cases have an incubation period of 30 days, and the earliest onset of the disease in current epidemiologic data is the 5th day after the bite, so onset of the disease on the 2nd day of the bite can occur, but the likelihood is very low. Rabies is a neurophilic virus that enters the body via the saliva of a virulent animal contaminating the wound of a bitten animal or person, and then enters the peripheral nerves, where it is slowly and retrogradely transported along the nerve fibers toward the central nervous system. The time the virus spends in reverse transit within the nerve is the latency period. Because of the wide variation in the speed and distance of this reverse transit of the virus within the nerve, the incubation period for rabies varies widely. The time of virus transit to the CNS is related to age, wound site, depth of wound, amount of invading virus and virulence. If bitten by a dog, it is recommended that the wound be immediately and thoroughly cleansed with soap and water, and then go to a regular CDC to receive rabies vaccination as soon as possible to avoid delays.