Published: 2010-07-27
Author: The world of people with disabilities
Peer-reviewed publications: N / A
Move in: Main announcement | Publications
Summary: Rabies is a viral disease that affects mammals and is transmitted primarily through the bite of a rabid animal. Rabies is a preventable, viral disease that affects mammals. The disease is transmitted most often through the bite of a rabid animal.
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Rabies is a preventable, viral disease that affects mammals. The disease is transmitted most often through the bite of a rabid animal.
The majority of rabies cases reported annually occur in wild animals such as bats, skunks, foxes and raccoons.
Dogs are the most important source of uncontrolled human rabies globally. Children are among those most at risk of rabies infection. Children are more likely to be bitten by dogs and are also more likely to be severely bitten by repeated bites in high-risk areas of the body. Severe exposure to rabies makes it more difficult to prevent future rabies, unless appropriate medical care is accessed immediately.
Household pets such as dogs and cats cause most animal bites, although dogs do more than cats. Cat bites are more likely to cause infection than dog bites. Bites from unvaccinated domestic animals and wild animals have the potential to transmit rabies. Rabies is still more common in bats, foxes, skunks, and raccoons than in domesticated pets. Animals such as squirrels, rabbits, or other rodents rarely carry rabies.
Rabies transmission
All mammal species are susceptible to rabies virus infection, but only a few important species are carriers. In the United States, several distinct strains of rabies virus have been identified in skunks, foxes, raccoons, and coyotes. There are several species of bats that are also carriers of the rabies virus.
Transmission of rabies virus usually begins when saliva from an infected host is transferred to an uninfected host. Although transmission of rabies is rarely documented through other means, such as contamination into the nose, eyes, or mouth, it does happen. Rabies transmission can also occur through aerosol transmission or through an organ or corneal transplant, although it is rare.
Signs and symptoms of rabies
The rabies virus infects the central nervous system of the organism concerned; human or not, ultimately causing brain disease and ultimately death. The initial symptoms of rabies in humans are similar to those of some diseases and include headache, fever, weakness, and generalized malaise. The patient may feel a stinging or tingling sensation at the site of the bite.
Progression of the disease brings on more specific symptoms, such as:
- Worry
- Insomnia
- Stimulate
- Panic
- Afraid of water
- Illusion
- Difficulty swallowing
- Increased saliva production
The above symptoms can last from two to ten days and are considered part of the acute phase of rabies infection. Once clinical signs of infection appear, the disease is almost always fatal. Treatment for an infected person is usually supportive. There are fewer than ten documented cases of clinical rabies survivors; only two had no history of pre- or post-exposure treatments.
Diagnosis of rabies
Rabies is diagnosed in animals through direct fluorescent antibody (DFA) testing. The DFA test looks for the presence of rabies virus antigen in brain tissue. Where people care; however, a variety of tests are needed to diagnose rabies infection.
Rabies in humans needs to be diagnosed in a laboratory quickly and accurately to ensure that the person receives prompt treatment. Over a period of several hours, a diagnostic laboratory is capable of determining whether an animal that has bitten a person has rabies and notifies the medical staff who are treating the infected person. Lab results can save the person from unnecessary psychological and physical trauma, as well as financial burden, if the animal is not infected with rabies.
Treatment of rabies
Rabies is one hundred percent preventable through the use of human immunoglobulins and a course of rabies vaccination. Despite this, more than 55 thousand people, mainly in Asia and Africa, die from rabies each year. About one person in these countries dies every 10 minutes from rabies.
Treatment of rabies after a person is exposed includes one dose of human rabies immune globulin plus four doses of rabies vaccine on the same day the person is exposed. The person is given the same dose of immunoglobulin and rabies vaccine three, seven, and fourteen days after exposure to rabies. This vaccine is injected into a muscle, usually in the person’s upper arm. Vaccination is extremely effective in preventing rabies if it is given as soon as possible after a person is exposed.
If someone was vaccinated before they were exposed to rabies, or received after exposure at a different time, they will only need two doses of the vaccine after being re-exposed to rabies. In either of these cases, the person will receive the vaccine on the day they are re-exposed to rabies, and then three days later they will have the shot again. The person will no longer need human rabies immune globulin.
It is not uncommon for people to have any adverse reactions to rabies vaccine or immunoglobulin injections. Medical science today uses newer vaccines that cause fewer adverse reactions than those in the past. The person may experience some mild and local reactions to the vaccine such as redness, pain, swelling, or itching around the injection site. In rare cases, symptoms may include nausea, headache, muscle pain, abdominal pain, or dizziness. Immunoglobulin injections can have side effects such as local pain or low-grade fever.
Once a person has been exposed to rabies and has started the vaccination process, it is important that they continue the vaccination process. Rabies prevention is a serious matter and the scheduled dose of vaccine should not be altered. Doctors also recommend that people who have been exposed to rabies get a tetanus shot, which should be updated every ten years.
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Disability World provides general information only. The documents presented are never meant to be a substitute for the professional medical care of a qualified physician, and they should not be construed as such. Financial assistance is obtained from advertisements or referral programs, if specified. Any 3rd party offers or advertisements do not constitute an endorsement.
• Cite This Page (APA): Disability World. (2010, July 27). Rabies symptoms, information and treatment. The world of people with disabilities. Accessed October 30, 2022 from www.disabled-world.com/health/rabies.php
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