Final answer:
A tetanus toxoid is administered for an animal bite if the patient has not received one in the last 10 years, as per CDC recommendations. The TT booster ensures protection against tetanus infection. For other diseases like rabies, timely post-exposure prophylaxis is crucial for prevention.
Step-by-step explanation:
To determine when a tetanus toxoid (TT) is administered for an animal bite, it's important to know the vaccination schedule recommended for tetanus prevention. The TT vaccine is a component found in DTaP, Tdap, and Td vaccines. For ongoing protection, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests a schedule where children receive doses at 2, 4, 6, and 15-18 months, another dose at 4-6 years, and an adolescent and adult booster typically administered once every 10 years. In the case of an animal bite, if the patient's last tetanus vaccination was more than 10 years ago or if the patient has an unclear vaccination history, a TT booster is often recommended to prevent infection.
When considering prevention methods for other diseases such as rabies, one should know that the rabies virus can take a week or more to travel to the central nervous system from the bite site. However, widespread vaccination in domestic animals has made the contraction of rabies from an animal bite unlikely in many areas. For rabies exposure, immediate treatment with rabies immunoglobulin and a 14-day vaccination series may be necessary to prevent the virus from entering nervous tissue.