Monica Carlo

4/3/09
Period 1 Biology
Mrs. Sierra
What is it?
Rabies is an encephalitis-producing virus that is usually fatal if
measures are not taken immediately to treat the bite before symptoms
appear. The most common sources for rabies according to the National
Center for Infectious Diseases include wild animals such as bats,
raccoons, foxes and skunks. Domestic animals account for only about
10 percent of reported cases
Rabies infections in people are rare in the United States. However,
worldwide about 50,000 people die from rabies each year, mostly in
developing countries where programs for vaccinating dogs against
rabies don't exist. But the good news is that problems can be
prevented if the exposed person receives treatment before symptoms
of the infection develop.
How is it contracted?
Rabies is a virus that in the U.S. is usually transmitted by a
bite from a wild infected animal, such as a bat, raccoon,
skunk, or fox. If a bite from a rabid animal goes untreated and
an infection develops, it is almost always fatal.
About 7,000 cases of rabies in animals are reported each year
to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Raccoons are the most common carriers of rabies in the
United States, but bats are most likely to infect people.
Skunks and foxes also can be infected with rabies, and a few
cases have been reported in wolves, coyotes, bobcats, and
ferrets. Small rodents such as hamsters, squirrels, chipmunks,
mice, and rabbits are very rarely infected with the virus.
Because of widespread vaccination programs in the United
States, transmission from dogs to people is very rare. Outside
the United States, exposure to rabid dogs is the most common
cause of transmission to humans.
Non-bite exposures to rabies are very rare
Scratches, abrasions, open wounds, or mucous membranes
contaminated with saliva or other potentially infectious
material (such as brain tissue) from a rabid animal constitute
non-bite exposures.
Inhalation of aerosolized rabies virus is also a potential nonbite route of exposure, but other than laboratory workers,

most people are unlikely to encounter an aerosol of rabies

virus.

What are the Symptoms?

The first symptoms can appear from a few days to more than a year
after the bite occurs.
One of the most distinctive signs of a rabies infection is a tingling or
twitching sensation around the area of the animal bite.
It is often accompanied by a fever, headache, muscle aches, loss of
appetite, nausea, and fatigue.
As the infection progresses, someone infected with rabies may
develop any of these symptoms:
irritability
excessive movements or agitation
confusion
hallucinations
aggressiveness
bizarre or abnormal thoughts
muscle spasms
abnormal postures
seizures (convulsions)
weakness or paralysis (when a person cannot move some part of
the body)
extreme sensitivity to bright lights, sounds, or touch
increased production of saliva or tears
difficulty speaking
In the advanced stage of the infection, as it spreads to other parts
of the nervous system, these symptoms may develop:
double vision
problems moving facial muscles
abnormal movements of the diaphragm and muscles that control
breathing
difficulty swallowing and increased production of saliva, causing
the "foaming at the mouth" usually associated with a rabies
infection
Is there a vaccine or a cure? What other ways can you prevent
getting the disease?

Rabies vaccines and immunoglobulin

Human Diploid Cell Vaccine (HDCV)

Purified Chick Embryo Cell Vaccine (PCEC)
Human Rabies
Immune Globulin
Human Rabies Immune Globulin
No cure once symptoms appear, death follows in a few days

Prevention:
Vaccinate pets dogs, cats, and ferrets can be infected by rabies.
Report any stray animals to your local health authorities or animalcontrol officer.
never touch or feed stray cats or dogs wandering in the
neighborhood or elsewhere
What are a persons chances of survival if they contracted the
disease?
If immunizations begin within two days of the bite, chances of
survival are very good.
Even if the immunizations do not begin until later, there is a chance
that the patient can survive.
The longer the delay in starting immunizations, however, the less
hopeful the prognosis for recovery is
after symptoms appear, host dies in a few days
How does a doctor diagnose the disease? Will blood be drawn
or other test conducted?

At the hospital, it is likely that the doctor will first clean the wound
thoroughly and make sure that tetanus immunizations are current.
To keep any potential infection from spreading, doctor may decide to
start treating wound right away with shots of human rabies immune
globulin to the wound site and vaccine shots in the arm.
Decision is usually based on the circumstances of the bite (provoked
or unprovoked), the type of animal (species, wild or domestic), the
animal's health history (vaccinated or not), and the
recommendations of local health authorities.
How long will the patient remain sick? Is there a treatment to
ease symptoms?
If treated the patient may remain sick for about a month, so yes there
are treatments for rabies. The treatments are a series of vaccines right
after your get the bite. If symptoms start showing, you may not have a
chance to survive.