What is Rabies?
Introduction- Rabies, or 'hydrophobia', is known as a disease that makes dogs sick and mad. Consequently, all dogs in many northern European countries are vaccinated against it. However, it can affect all warm-blooded creatures, including man.
It is a disease humans may get from being bitten by an animal infected with the rabies virus. Rabies has been recognized for over 4,000 years. Yet, despite great advances in diagnosing and preventing it, today rabies is almost always deadly in humans who contract it and do not receive treatment.
It is a frequently fatal, acute viral infection. Rabies is a serious viral disease that affects the central nervous system. It is transmitted to people from infected mammals. Treatment of an infected person as critical. In non-vaccinated humans, rabies is almost invariably fatal after neurological symptoms have developed, but prompt post-exposure vaccination may prevent the virus from progressing. Very rarely, rabies has been transmitted by exposures other than bites that introduce the virus into open wounds or mucous membranes.
What causes rabies?
Rabies is caused by a virus that belongs to the family Rhabdoviridae.
The virus enters the muscles to the nerves and goes via the spinal cord to the brain, where it multiplies before spreading from there to the salivary glands, lungs, kidneys etc.
The incubation period also varies with different strains of the virus, but the average time between bite and onset is four to eight weeks.
The virus is usually transmitted by way of an animal bite. The virus is present in the saliva of an infected animal. When an infected animal bites another animal, the virus in its saliva may flow into the second animal's bloodstream. The second animal becomes infected with the virus.
On rare occasions, the rabies virus can be transmitted in other ways. It can enter an animal's body through moist tissues around the eyes or lips or through a scratch in the skin. Some scientists believe the virus can even be inhaled.
For a human to get rabies, 2 things must happen. :
First, you must have contact with a rabid animal.
Second, the contact must allow for the transmission of infected material, which will involve exposure to the saliva of the infected animal usually through a bite or scratch.
Most often rabies transmission occurs through the bite of a rabid animal.
Anyone who is bitten by an animal infected with the rabies virus can get rabies. People whose work involves frequent contact with wildlife or domestic animals that are not immunized are at a greater risk for getting rabies. These include veterinarians, animal trainers, animal exterminators, farm workers, ranchers, forest rangers, and cave explorers.
Rarely, people contract rabies when saliva from an infected animal comes in contact with their eyes, nose, mouth or a wound. This may occur if you're licked by an infected animal.
Health officials are particularly concerned about rabies in raccoons because raccoons are often in close contact with household pets, especially dogs and cats. Increasingly, bats are being shown to be important transmitters of rabies to humans.
