What is Rabies?

What is Rabies?

• Rabies: An infectious disease that can affect any mammal including humans and is transmitted through the saliva of an infected animal. The infectious agent is the Neurotropic lyssavirus which affects the salivary gland and also causes neurological symptoms.
• Rabies: acute infectious disease of the central nervous system affecting almost all mammals, including humans; it is caused by a rhabdovirus and usually spread by contamination with virus-laden saliva of bites inflicted by rabid animals; important animal vectors include the dog, cat, vampire bat, mongoose, skunk, wolf, raccoon, and fox.
  Source - Diseases Database
• Rabies: an acute viral disease of the nervous system of warm-blooded animals (usually transmitted by the bite of a rabid animal); rabies is fatal if the virus reaches the brain.
  Source - WordNet 2.1

Rabies is listed as a "rare disease" by the Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This means that Rabies, or a subtype of Rabies, affects less than 200,000 people in the US population.
Source - National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Ophanet, a consortium of European partners, currently defines a condition rare when it affects 1 person per 2,000. They list Rabies as a "rare disease".
Source - Orphanet

Rabies: Introduction

Types of Rabies:

Types of Rabies:

• Furious rabies - early uncontrolled behavior including biting.
• Dumb rabies - later stages with apparent calm due to paralysis
• more types...»

Broader types of Rabies:

• Viral diseases
• Zoonotic Diseases
• Brain conditions
• Vaccine-preventable diseases
• Diseases contagious from dogs
• Diseases contagious from cats
• Diseases contagious from animals
• more types...»

How many people get Rabies?

Incidence (annual) of Rabies: 18,000 cases (of rabies shots rather than actual rabies)
Incidence Rate of Rabies: approx 1 in 15,111 or 0.01% or 18,000 people in USA [about data]
Worldwide incidence of Rabies: 10 million cases (WHO)
Prevalance of Rabies: Although rabies in humans is rare in the United States, as many as 18,000 Americans get rabies shots each year because they have been in contact with animals that may be rabid (rabies-infected). (Source: excerpt from Rabies, NIAID Fact Sheet: NIAID)

Who gets Rabies?

Geography Profile for Rabies: Rabies is found in all of the United States, except Hawaii, and in many other countries around the world, including Canada and Mexico. The disease may be absent from large areas for many years, and then reappear suddenly or gradually by invasion from bordering countries or by the introduction of an infected animal. (Source: excerpt from Rabies, NIAID Fact Sheet: NIAID)

How serious is Rabies?

Prognosis of Rabies: most infected people die without prompt treatment
Complications of Rabies: see complications of Rabies
Deaths for Rabies: 1 death in the USA (CDC/1998)

What causes Rabies?

Causes of Rabies: see causes of Rabies
Causes of Rabies: Rabies is caused by a virus that is in the saliva of infected animals, and it is usually transmitted by bites from infected animals. All warm-blooded animals can get rabies, and some may serve as natural reservoirs of the virus. (Source: excerpt from Rabies, NIAID Fact Sheet: NIAID)
Risk factors for Rabies: see risk factors for Rabies

What are the symptoms of Rabies?

Symptoms of Rabies: see symptoms of Rabies

Complications of Rabies: see complications of Rabies

Incubation period for Rabies: Typically 30-50 days after exposure; as fast as 14 days for a severe bite or multiple bites; a year or longer is rare but possible.

Incubation period for Rabies: When symptoms do appear, it is usually 30 to 50 days following exposure. There is a direct relationship between how severe the bite is and where on the body the person bitten and how long it takes for symptoms to appear. For example, if a person's head is severely bitten, symptoms may show up in as few as 14 days. Under rare conditions, a person may not have symptoms for a year or longer after exposure to the virus. (Source: excerpt from Rabies, NIAID Fact Sheet: NIAID)

Can anyone else get Rabies?

More information: see contagiousness of Rabies

Rabies: Testing

Diagnostic testing: see tests for Rabies.

Misdiagnosis: see misdiagnosis and Rabies.

How is it treated?

Treatments for Rabies: see treatments for Rabies
Prevention of Rabies: see prevention of Rabies
Research for Rabies: see research for Rabies

Society issues for Rabies

Hospitalization statistics for Rabies: The following are statistics from various sources about hospitalizations and Rabies:

• 0% (1) of hospital consultant episodes were for rabies in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 100% of hospital consultant episodes for rabies required hospital admission in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 100% of hospital consultant episodes for rabies were for men in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 0% of hospital consultant episodes for rabies were for women in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• 0% of hospital consultant episodes for rabies required emergency hospital admission in England 2002-03 (Hospital Episode Statistics, Department of Health, England, 2002-03)
• more statistics...»

Organs Affected by Rabies:

Organs and body systems related to Rabies include:

• Brain
• Cns

Name and Aliases of Rabies

Main name of condition: Rabies

Class of Condition for Rabies: viral

hydrophobia, Lyssa, Water phobia

Lyssa Source - Diseases Database

Hydrophobia, Lyssa, Madness
Source - WordNet 2.1

Lyssa
Source - Office of Rare Diseases (ORD) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)