Rabies Awareness

As everybody knows, rabies is  a serious vaccine-preventable, zoonotic, viral disease affecting the central nervous system. In up to 99% of the human rabies cases, dogs are responsible for virus transmission. Children between the age of 5 and 14 years are frequent victims. Rabies infects mammals, comprising of dogs, cats, livestock and wildlife. Rabies spreads to people and animals via saliva, usually through bites, scratches, or direct contact with mucosa, such as eyes, mouth, or open wounds. Once clinical symptoms appear, rabies is virtually 100% mortal. The incubation period for rabies is typically 2–3 months but may vary from one week to one year, depending on factors such as the location of virus entry and the viral load. Initial symptoms of rabies consist of generic signs like fever, pain and unusual or unexplained tingling, pricking, or burning sensations at the wound site. As the virus moves to the central nervous system, progressive and fatal inflammation of the brain and spinal cord develops. Clinical rabies in people can be managed but very rarely cured, and not without crucial neurological deficits.  Furious rabies results in hyperactivity, excitable behavior, hallucinations, lack of coordination, hydrophobia (fear of water) and aerophobia (fear of drafts or of fresh air). Fatality occurs after a few days due to cardio-respiratory arrest.  Paralytic rabies accounts for about 20% of the total number of human cases. This form of rabies runs a less dramatic and usually longer course than the furious form. Muscles gradually become paralysed, starting from the wound site. A coma gradually develops and eventually death occurs. The paralytic form of rabies is often misdiagnosed, contributing to the under-reporting of the disease. To prevent rabies, public awareness is required. Vaccination is necessary in preventing it. Let's cooperate to take rabies down.