Is an Animal Contagious During the Rabies Incubation Period?
During the rabies incubation period, a bite by the infected animal does not carry a risk of rabies because the virus is not yet in the saliva. Only late in the disease, after the rabies virus has reached the brain and multiplied there to cause encephalitis (inflammation of the brain), does the virus move from the brain to the salivary glands and saliva.