Rabies

Introduction: Rabies

Rabies: Rabies is an acute and deadly viral infection of the central nervous system. It is one of the most terrifying diseases known to man. ... more about 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. More detailed information about the symptoms, causes, and treatments of Rabies is available below.

Symptoms of Rabies

• Mental depression - for a short period
• Restlessness
• Itching - around the bite site
• Headache
• Fever

See full list of 69 symptoms of Rabies

Medical Textbooks Online about Rabies

Book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Wrongly Diagnosed with Rabies?

• Misdiagnosis of Rabies
• Failure to diagnose Rabies
• Underlying causes of Rabies (possibly wrongly diagnosed)
• Failure to diagnose Rabies

Causes of Rabies

• 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

Read more about causes of Rabies

More information about causes of Rabies:

• Underlying causes of Rabies
• Rabies as a complication caused by other conditions
• Medical news summaries relating to Causes of Rabies

Treatments for Rabies

• Human rabies immunoglobulin (HRIG) shots - a form of rapid passive immunization; used before starting rabies shots.
• Rabies vaccine shots - active immunization; typically a series of 5 shots; there are various types of rabies shots.
  • Human diploid cell vaccine (HDCV)
  • Rabies vaccine adsorbed (RVA)
  • Purified chick embryo cell culture (PCEC)

See full list of 11 treatments for Rabies

Videos for Rabies

Patient Surveys for Rabies

• Patient Profile Survey
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• Survey about the symptoms of your Rabies
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Prognosis for Rabies

Prognosis for Rabies: most infected people die without prompt treatment

More about prognosis of Rabies

Reseach about Rabies

Visit our research pages for current research about Rabies treatments.

Clinical Trials for Rabies

The US based website ClinicalTrials.gov lists information on both federally and privately supported clinical trials using human volunteers.

Some of the clinical trials listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for Rabies include:

• Immunogenicity and Safety of Verorab in Indian Population - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Purified Rabies Vaccine for Human Use (Chick-Embryo Cell) - This study is no longer recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• A Randomized Phase I Safety and Immunogenicity Trial of Live Recombinant Canarypox ALVAC-HIV vCP205 Delivered by Alternate Mucosal Routes in HIV-1 Uninfected Adult Volunteers - This study is no longer recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Antibody Production in Immune Disorders - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Increasing HAART-Induced Immune Restoration With Cyclosporine - This study is no longer recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Abacavir sulfate, Lamivudine and Zidovudine,Cyclosporine,Efavirenz

See full list of 6 Clinical Trials for Rabies

Prevention of Rabies

Prevention information for Rabies has been compiled from various data sources and may be inaccurate or incomplete. None of these methods guarantee prevention of Rabies.

• Immediately clean the animal bite wound - use soap and water, or just water if no soap.
• Seek immediate medical attention - after a bite or exposure.
• Rabies vaccine shots - taken as a safeguard, or as a preventive treatment after a bite or exposure.
• Avoid wild animals
• Pet vaccination

Read more about prevention of Rabies

Statistics for Rabies

• Medical statistics for Rabies
• Prevalence and incidence statistics for Rabies
• Death and Mortality statistics for Rabies
• Society statistics for Rabies

Types of Rabies

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

Read more about Types of Rabies

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User Interactive Forums

Read about other experiences, ask a question about Rabies, or answer someone else's question, on our message boards:

• I can not get a diagnosis. Please help.
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Article Excerpts about Rabies

Rabies, NIAID Fact Sheet: NIAID (Excerpt)

Rabies is an acute and deadly viral infection of the central nervous system. It is one of the most terrifying diseases known to man. 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). In 1998 according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), only one person died of rabies in this country. (Source: excerpt from Rabies, NIAID Fact Sheet: NIAID)

What is rabies?: DVRD (Excerpt)

Rabies is a disease that affects wild animals, domestic animals (like pets and livestock), and humans. It is caused by a virus. A virus is a very tiny germ. You can see the rabies virus only with a special electron microscope. Only mammals (warm-blooded animals with fur) can get rabies. (Source: excerpt from What is rabies?: DVRD)

Definitions of 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)

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