Causes of Rabies

List of causes of Rabies

Following is a list of causes or underlying conditions (see also Misdiagnosis of underlying causes of Rabies) that could possibly cause Rabies includes:

• Animal bite
• Raccoon bite - 44% of USA rabies cases
• Skunk bite - 28.5% of USA rabies cases
• Bat bite - 12.5% of USA rabies cases
• Fox bite (type of Animal bite) - 5.5% of USA rabies cases
• Bite of an infected animal
• Aerosol through mucous membranes
• Sexual relations
• Kisses
• Transplant surgery

Rabies as a complication of other conditions:

Other conditions that might have Rabies as a complication may, potentially, be an underlying cause of Rabies. Our database lists the following as having Rabies as a complication of that condition:

• Animal bite
• Cat bite

What causes Rabies?

Causes: 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)
Article excerpts about the causes of Rabies:

Rabies, NIAID Fact Sheet: NIAID (Excerpt)

Rabies can affect wildlife such as raccoons, skunks, and bats, as well as household pets such as dogs and cats. Vaccination of pets and livestock is the most effective control measure to prevent the disease in these animals and subsequent human exposure. In fact, in the United States, such programs have largely eliminated canine (dog) rabies. In 1998, wild animals accounted for 93 percent of the 7,962 reported animal rabies cases in the United States and Puerto Rico. Rabies in raccoons accounted for 44 percent of cases, skunk rabies for 28.5 percent, bat rabies for 12.5 percent, and fox rabies for 5.5 percent of the cases. Only rarely, rabies is found in rabbits, squirrels, rats, and opossums.

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. (Source: excerpt from Rabies, NIAID Fact Sheet: NIAID)

Rabies, NIAID Fact Sheet: NIAID (Excerpt)

Most people get rabies from being bitten by a rabid animal. Rarely, if a person has broken skin, like a scratch, which comes in contact with animal saliva full of rabies virus, that person may get infected. But rabies also can be spread in the air, as has occurred in caves where infected bats live. (Source: excerpt from Rabies, NIAID Fact Sheet: NIAID)

What is rabies?: DVRD (Excerpt)

You get rabies from the saliva of a rabid animal, usually from a bite.  The rabies virus is spread through saliva. It is not spread through contact with urine, feces, or blood of an infected animal.

You cannot get rabies by petting an animal. You may get rabies from a scratch if the animal, such as a cat,  was licking its paw before it scratched you. (Remember that the rabies virus is found in the saliva of an animal).

In very rare cases, rabies has been spread from one person to another after a corneal transplant.  In several instances, the cornea  (part of the eye) from a person who died of rabies was transplanted to a healthy person, who then got the disease. (Source: excerpt from What is rabies?: DVRD)

Facts About Rabies: CDC-OC (Excerpt)

Since 1980, 17 of 32 cases of human rabies in the United States have been associated with bat-related virus variants. Noteworthy, only one of these patients had a definite bite history. These cases and recent findings suggest that limited or insignificant physical contact with rabid bats may cause infection, even without a clear history of animal bite. (Source: excerpt from Facts About Rabies: CDC-OC)

Medical news summaries relating to Rabies:

The following medical news items are relevant to causes of Rabies:

• Rabies kills 30,000 people in India each year
• More news »

Related information on causes of Rabies:

As with all medical conditions, there may be many causal factors. Further relevant information on causes of Rabies may be found in:

• Risk factors for Rabies
• Contagiousness for Rabies
• Hidden causes of Rabies

Causes of Rabies: Online Medical Books

16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE! Review excerpts from medical books online, free, without registration, for more information about the causes of Rabies.

Phobias: Causes and incidence
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

A phobia develops when anxiety about an object or a situation compels the patient to avoid it. The precise cause of most phobias is unknown. Psychoanalytic theory holds that the phobia is actually repression and displacement of an internal conflict. Behavior theorists view phobia as a stimulus-response reflex, avoiding a situation or object that causes anxiety.

Ten percent of Americans suffer from a phobic disorder. In fact, phobias are the most common psychiatric disorders in women and the second most common in men. More men than women experience social phobias, whereas agoraphobia and specific phobias are more common in women.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition), 2005

Rabies: Causes
(Handbook of Diseases)

Generally, the rabies virus is transmitted to a human through the bite of an infected animal that introduces the virus through the skin or mucous membrane. The virus begins to replicate in the striated muscle cells at the bite site.

It next spreads up the nerve to the CNS and replicates in the brain. Finally, it moves through the nerves into other tissues, including the salivary glands. Occasionally, airborne droplets and infected tissue transplants can transmit the virus.

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Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003

Phobias: Causes
(Handbook of Diseases)

A phobia develops when anxiety about an object or a situation compels the patient to avoid it. The precise cause of most phobias is unknown. Psychoanalytic theory holds that the phobia is actually repression and displacement of an internal conflict. Behavior theorists view phobia as a stimulus-response reflex, whereby the patient avoids a situation or object that causes anxiety.

» READ BOOK EXCERPT ONLINE »

Source: Handbook of Diseases, 2003

Rabies: Rabies - pathophysiology
(The 5-Minute Pediatric Consult)

• Except for rare cases, the rabies virus enters the body through a bite that breaks the skin and introduces infected saliva.
  • From there, the virus gains access to muscle, where it is sequestered.
  • The virus then enters the peripheral nerves, where it moves centripetally to the CNS at a rate of ~3 mm/h.
  • Once in the CNS, infection spreads rapidly to involve nearly all neurons.
  • This state, if untreated, leads to cardiopulmonary arrest and death shortly thereafter, as a result of still poorly understood mechanisms.
• The incubation period can range from 10 days to 2 years! Most cases, however, present within 20–90 days postexposure.

Rabies - etiology

Transmission of the virus, a rhabdovirus containing single-stranded RNA, occurs through animal bites and has been observed following organ transplantation from an infected donor or following accidental inhalation among laboratory workers.

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Source: The 5-Minute Pediatric Consult, 2008