Rabies

What causes rabies?

• Rabies infection is caused by the rabies virus. The virus is spread through the saliva of infected animals. Infected animals can spread the virus by biting another animal or a person. In rare cases, rabies can be spread when infected saliva gets into an open wound or the mucous membranes, such as the mouth or eyes. This could occur if an infected animal were to lick an open cut on your skin.

Symptoms of rabies

• The first symptoms of rabies may be very similar to the flu and may last for days. Later signs and symptoms may include: Fever Headache Nausea Vomiting Agitation Anxiety Confusion Hyperactivity Difficulty swallowing Excessive salivation Fear of water (hydrophobia) because of the difficulty in swallowing Hallucinations Insomnia And Partial paralysis

How many people get affected by rabies?

• In the United States and most of the American continent, dying of rabies is rare thanks to successful animal control and vaccination programs. But around the world, rabies kills more than 59,000 people every year—that is nearly one death every nine minutes. Most affected are countries in Africa and Asia, and almost half of the victims are children under the age of 15. The good news is that rabies can be prevented through vaccination, both in our animals and in people. On World Rabies Day, as we celebrate our progress, we must also renew our commitment to eliminate human rabies deaths.

Where are rabies most common?

• Rabies is a much bigger problem in other parts of the world than it is in North America, particularly in developing countries where it is most often transmitted to humans through dog bites. Areas where rabies is especially common include Africa, Asia, India, Indonesia, and Central and South America.

How deadly is rabies?

• If a person without vaccinations gets bitten by a animal with rabies, it's usually life threatening. There have been cases of people without vaccinations surviving rabies but that is very rare. On the other hand, if you have been vaccinated you should be a-ok if bitten, you should just head to the doctors for further treatment.

How the disease is transmitted to humans

• I explained this in a previous slide but, it's basically transmitted through animal bites/ stings.

When did rabies first appear in humans?

• Rabies has long been recognized throughout history, which is most likely due to the particularly symptoms associated with the disease. It appears to have been present in dog species, as well as occurring in other animal species such as bats. Rabies goes way back, thousands and thousands of years ago, so you can't really say who the FIRST person with rabies was. Who knows... maybe it's been around since the beginning of humanity.

Immune system vs rabies

• The immune system alone can't defeat rabies but if you have had vaccinations then your immune system will start to fight back. The fight is a slow, painful one but your body's immune system finally wins. Back in the olden days there where no vaccinations for rabies, so if you got them, you died. Today, if you get rabies and you didn't vaccinate yourself you can still get a painful injection to support your body.

FACTS

• Rabies has long been recognized throughout history, which is most likely due to the particularly stark symptoms associated with the disease. It appears to have been ever present in dog species, as well as occurring intermittently in other animal species such as bats.

URL

• https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/
• http://www.healthline.com/health/rabies
• http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/01/inside-global-campaign-get-rid-rabie...
• http://www.medicinenet.com/rabies_virus/article.htm