Rabies is a viral disease that causes acute encephalitis in mammals. It is transmitted primarily through bites from infected animals like bats, raccoons, and foxes. Left untreated in humans, rabies causes symptoms like headaches, fever and eventually violent movements, hallucinations and death within 10 days. Diagnosis involves tests on tissue or saliva samples. Prompt vaccination with rabies immune globulin and multiple vaccine doses is essential for survival after a possible exposure. Public awareness events like World Rabies Day aim to educate people on preventing transmission and seeking treatment for animal bites.

1. Rabies
An Overview of the Neurological Disorder

2. What is rabies?
 “Rabies” is a disease
caused by the rabies virus
that causes acute, severe
encephalitis (inflammation
of the brain) in mammals,
including humans.
 It is also known as
“hydrophobia”.
 The disease kills people,
and if not treated
immediately a person
infected will almost always
die.

3. What is rabies? Cont'd
• Rabies inflicts its
hosts to the point
where he/she is
unable to drink
water, thus resulting
in death.
• It is rare in the
United States
thanks to vaccines,
though it can still be
found in other parts
of the world.

4. How to Get Rabies
 Mammals can only
get rabies.
 The most common
way to get rabies is to
be bitten by a rabid
animal.
It is also possible to
get rabies simply from
handling an animal
infected with rabies
through the air
surrounding them.

5. How to Get Rabies cont'd
• Mammals such
as bats,
raccoons,
skunks foxes,
foxes, and
coyotes are the
most common
hosts.
• It is not limited
to smaller
animals;
animals as large
as bears have
been known to
contract the
disease

6. Symptoms of Rabies
• The rabies virus can be within its host for four weeks without showing any signs.
• Humans infected with rabies experience symptoms that get progressively worse with time.
• Symptoms start out with a sore throat, headaches, and a fever.
• If not immediately treated, the rabies will then induce violent movements, hallucinations,
seizures, the inability to swallow water, foaming at the mouth, coma, and finally death.
• Without a prompt vaccine, the infected will almost always die within ten days of the
symptoms.

7. How rabies is diagnosed
•Rabies can be difficult to diagnose, at least in the early stages. People suspected to be hosts
of the virus usually undergo one of the following tests:
• Direct fluorescent antibody test (DFA) – a tissue sample is taken of the suspected area of
infection and notices if the rabies protein is present; this test is the fastest
• Polymerase chain reaction assay (PCR) – finds the specific DNA of the rabies protein if
present; this is the most accurate
•Animals that do the biting are also tested. They can be diagnosed most easily through
abnormal behavior: an unnaturally increase in drooling, mindless aggression, and nocturnal
animals wandering about during daylight hours all indicate something is very wrong.

8. Treatment of Rabies
Treatment is absolutely essential for
survival of the disease, and can be done
the following ways:
• Using a “virus-killing cleanser” on
affected area wherever the bite occurred.
• Using a vaccine known as rabies
immune globulin (HRIG)
• Injection of several separate vaccines
including HDCV and DCO doses to
completely eradicate the disease.

9. How to avoid Rabies
• To completely avoid the chance of getting rabies, do not pet any stray or wild animals.
• Get vaccinated if you are not already as soon as possible, as well as pets.
• Move to Australia, Ireland, Japan, Gum or other island countries if you want no threat
of rabies at all.
• The Texas-Mexico border has the biggest likelihood for rabid stray animals to appear.
• Raccoons are the most common rabid animals in the United States

10. If You Have Been Bitten
If you feel you have contracted rabies,
immediate action must be taken:
1. Wash the bite thoroughly with soap,
water, and a sort of iodine solution to
kill the fairly common germs
associated with animal bites.
2. Get the name, phone number and
address of the animal if it is a pet.
3. Contact local humane society. Do not
try to capture the rabid animal or
more people may get hurt and
inoculated with rabies.
4. Call 911 and go immediately to
hospital

11. Cultural Impact
Rabies has a particularly bad reputation due to is effects on animals and
humans. As a result, there has been a number of things that have come as a
direct response of the disease:
• Cujo – A horror film in which a
rabid dog stalks and attacks a family
• World Rabies Day – on Sept 28, in
response to the fact that one person
dies from rabies every ten minutes,
this day of observance was created
to bring about people's awareness
of the disease
• Alliance for Rabies Control - Great
Britain has a charity that serves
essentially the same purpose as
what World Rabies Day promotes

12. Bibliography
• http://kungfurodeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/09/chinese%20cujo.jpg
• http://www.fda.gov/FDAC/features/996_rab.html
• http://www.emedicinehealth.com/rabies/page7_em.htm#Medical%20Treatment
• http://en.wikipedia.org
• http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/rabies-topic-overview
• http://bbc.co.uk
• http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/kidsrabies/Statistics/stats.htm
• http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/hd/rabies/oral/rabiespic01.htm
• http://images.publicradio.org/content/2007/10/25/20071025_rabiesvaccine1_2.jpg
• http://www.dolittler.com/enclosures/cute_kitten.p.jpg
• http://www.emedicinehealth.com/rabies/page6_em.htm
• http://www.coloradolaw-blog.com/dogbite.jpg