Could it be possible for a person who was bitten by a possibly rabid animal about three years ago to still be at risk of rabies from that bite?

Did they test the animal at that time? If rabid, your friend would have been treated.

No, it was a random dog (a Jack Russell terrier I think) it didn’t look rabid or anything just really pissed off (it was probably looking for its master). We didn’t get a good look at it before it ran off…

It is possible (the time between infection and early flu like symptoms has been as long as two years), however early rabies is very similar to any viral infection (ie flu like symptoms) so it is more probable that he has another unrelated viral infection (like the flu).

Still, it would be good idea to get checked out by a doc.

Since rabies is such a horrible way to die, it’s worth checking out now (with an actual doctor, instead of us) if he wasn’t checked or treated then.

It’s a bacterial infection, so depending on how the bacteria may have been harbored in your friend’s body between the bite and now (or whenever he gets treated, if the dog wasn’t / can’t be examined), then I suppose it’s possible.

@Lightlyseared @WasCy he doesn’t have any health insurance…

@fujivelo yeah… you should definately get some of that…

Answers here
http://www.cdc.gov/rabies/index.html

Oh, well he should just die, then. Horribly.

Seriously, he should be seeing a doctor, or looking up the possibility of contracting rabies after a long dormancy subsequent to the bite on a site with better bona fides than Fluther. Perhaps WebMD.com or some other such site will have the answer he needs.

Isn’t there a basic waiting period for rabies…I know they often quarantine dogs, etc., when they’re not sure if they have rabies…Wouldn’t this apply to humans too?....sorry, I didn’t feel like reading actual facts on above website…but, yeah, go to the doctor to be safe; I just don’t think it can be rabies…

@WasCy

Rabies is caused by a virus, not a bacterium.

Thanks, @crisw. I was afraid of answering that off the cuff, without looking it up to be sure. You helped to emphasize the point I was making in my advice, anyway.