Rabies: Symptoms, causes, vaccine, treatment, and prevention
Rabies: Symptoms And Treatment
Rabies is a virus that attacks the central nervous system. It's found only in mammals, which are warm-blooded animals with fur or hair (including humans).
Human cases of the virus are extremely rare in the United States, but if it's not treated before symptoms appear, it's deadly. Rabies has the highest mortality rate -- 99.9% -- of any disease on earth. The key is to get treated right away if you think you've been exposed to an animal that has rabies.
The rabies virus causes the rabies infection and can spread through saliva, often from an infected animal biting another animal or human. In the U.S., rabies is mostly found in wild animals like coyotes, raccoons, skunks, bats, and foxes. Rabies is fully preventable if you get treated with vaccines as soon as possible after exposure. (Photo credit: E+/Getty Images)
The rabies virus causes the rabies infection and can spread through saliva, often from an infected animal biting another animal or human.
The virus is found only in mammals. In the United States, rabies is mostly found in wild animals like coyotes, raccoons, skunks, bats, and foxes. Pets (such as dogs and cats) and livestock (like horses and cattle) can also get rabies. Most pets and livestock that get rabies were not vaccinated against it. In the U.S., dog owners are required to vaccinate their pets against rabies, but in other countries without that law, it's common for dogs to get rabies.
Normally, rabies is spread through a deep bite or scratch from an infected animal. Rabies is passed through direct contact with saliva, such as through a cut in the skin, or mucous membranes like the eyes, nose, or mouth. You could also get rabies from touching brain or nervous system tissue from an infected animal.
Human cases of the virus are very rare in the United States, but if it's not treated before symptoms appear, it's deadly. Most humans in this country who were infected with rabies got it from bats. People may not recognize a scratch or bite from a bat, because it can be very small. Exposure to rabid dogs outside the U.S. Is the second leading cause of rabies deaths in Americans and the top cause in other countries.
There are two forms of rabies:
Furious rabies
Furious rabies is known for causing hyperactivity (being extremely excitable or having overactive movement) and hallucinations (seeing, hearing, or sensing something that isn't there). Other symptoms include hydrophobia (fear of water) and sometimes aerophobia (fear of fresh air, or drafts). After a few days, furious rabies leads to death from cardiorespiratory arrest (when heart activity and breathing stops).
Paralytic rabies
Paralytic rabies is known for causing paralysis (being unable to move) and coma (a deep state of unconsciousness). This form of rabies is found in 20% of human cases and is often misdiagnosed. Symptoms include muscle paralysis that starts at the location of the bite or scratch. People with paralytic rabies slowly become comatose and eventually die.
Typically, there are no symptoms right away. Rabies can lay dormant in your body for 1 to 3 months. Doctors call this the "incubation period." Symptoms will appear once the virus travels through your central nervous system and hits your brain.
The first sign that something is wrong is fever. You might feel generally tired or weak or have a headache or flu-like symptoms. You may have a cough or sore throat, muscle pain, nausea and vomiting, or diarrhea. You may also feel pain, tingling, or burning at the site of the wound. These symptoms may last for days. As the virus spreads through your central nervous system, you'll develop other, more severe symptoms. They include:
In time, these symptoms give way to coma, heart or lung failure, and death.
Rabies hydrophobia
Hydrophobia is a symptom of furious rabies. It is a fear of water that can happen in the late stage of a rabies infection. People with hydrophobia have muscle spasms when they see, hear, or taste water.
Rabies travels from an infected wound to your brain over a period of time. There are several phases most people go through when exposed to the rabies virus: incubation, prodromal phase, acute neurologic phase, and coma. Once rabies is past the incubation phase, it cannot be treated. If you think you've been exposed to an animal that has rabies, it is very important to get treated right away, before the virus moves to the prodromal phase.
Incubation. Incubation is the first phase after exposure to the rabies virus. The virus can spend days to weeks in your body before it moves to your nervous system. You won't have any symptoms during the incubation phase.
Prodromal phase. This phase starts when the rabies virus (RABV) enters your nervous system. The virus moves through your nerve cells into your brain and spinal cord and damages your nerves along the way. During this phase, your immune system will try to fight the virus, which causes flu-like symptoms. Nerve damage may cause tingling, pain, or numbness where you were bitten or scratched. The prodromal phase lasts 2-10 days.
Acute neurologic phase. This phase is when the rabies virus begins to damage your brain and spinal cord. People with furious rabies will have symptoms like aggression, seizures, and delirium. People with paralytic rabies will have weakness and paralysis that moves from the bite wound to the rest of their body. Furious rabies lasts from a few days to a week. Paralytic rabies can last up to a month.
Coma. Coma is the final stage of a rabies infection for many people. Eventually, rabies leads to death.
There are no approved treatments for rabies once you have symptoms. However, there are steps you can take to prevent rabies if you've been bitten or scratched by a wild animal or had contact with an infected animal.
If you think you may have been exposed to rabies, contact a health care professional right away. If you were bitten or scratched, clean your wound with soap and water. Your provider can give you further instructions on cleaning the wound. If you find a bat in a room where someone was sleeping or children were present, assume there was contact as well.
To prevent RABV from causing rabies, your provider will give you a series of vaccinations (shots). You'll also be given an antibody treatment near your wound if you've never been vaccinated before. These medications prevent an infection from traveling to your brain if you've been exposed to the rabies virus. This is a preventive treatment known as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). You may also need a tetanus shot for your wound if you haven't had one in the past 10 years.
If you are pregnant, rabies shots are safe for you and your baby.
Two kinds of PEP medication are used to prevent rabies after you've been exposed to the virus:
Human rabies immune globulin (HRIG). You will be given a shot of human rabies immune globulin (HRIG) only if you've never had a rabies vaccine before. HRIG immediately gives your body antibodies until it is able to make its own in response to the rabies vaccine. An antibody is a type of protein your immune system makes to fight off harmful viruses, bacteria, and other intruders.
Rabies vaccine. Your health care provider will also give you a shot of rabies vaccine to prevent a rabies infection after you've been exposed to the virus. The vaccine teaches your body to destroy the rabies virus before it reaches your brain. Current vaccines are given in your arm, not your stomach.
You may have mild side effects from the rabies vaccine. These include:
Let your doctor know if you have any serious side effects.
Vaccine schedule
It is important to get your rabies shots as soon as possible after your exposure to the virus. Your first shots will be given right away. A series of shots must be given on a schedule:
You might have an image in your head of a dog or raccoon acting aggressively and foaming at the mouth. But it's not so easy to tell if you're looking at a rabid animal. Most wild animals that have rabies actually act shy or timid. That's not the way wild animals normally act, so steer clear.
Here are some common-sense rules for dealing with stray or wild animals:
In the U.S., there is a low risk of dogs getting rabies because of laws requiring vaccines in pets. This reduces the risk of you getting bitten by a dog with rabies. Around the world, humans are at a higher risk of getting rabies from dogs. Children are often at the highest risk of getting bitten by a rabid dog. They are also more likely to have severe exposure to the rabies virus by getting bitten many times. Multiple bites make it harder to prevent a rabies infection.
Most people in the U.S. Have a low risk of being exposed to the rabies virus. However, some people are at a higher risk. This includes people who work with the rabies virus (such as laboratory workers), those who handle animals that could have rabies (such as veterinarians), people who visit caves or other areas with lots of bats, and those who travel to parts of the world where rabies is common and it's harder to get medical care.
If you are in a high-risk group, there are ways to protect yourself before exposure.
If you are bitten, scratched, or possibly had contact with an animal with rabies, seek medical care right away. Rabies is 100% preventable if you get vaccine doses (post-exposure prophylaxis/PEP) before the virus moves to your brain. Once you show symptoms of the rabies, the disease will become deadly.
Here are additional steps you can take to protect yourself and your pets from rabies:
You can survive being exposed to rabies if you're treated as soon as possible, before you have symptoms. Treatment in the U. S. Includes one dose of human rabies immune globulin (HRIG) and four doses of rabies vaccine over a 14-day period. You should get HRIG and your first dose of rabies vaccine as soon as possible after exposure. Current vaccines are given in your arm, not your stomach. You may have some pain at the injection site or feel mildly ill after the vaccine.
You can live for several weeks or months without symptoms after being exposed to rabies. Once the virus has moved to your central nervous system (brain and spinal cord), rabies causes death within a few days. That's why early medical care is so important. Once you are showing symptoms that the virus is affecting your brain, there are no effective treatments available.
Can rabies be cured?
There is no cure for rabies. However, rabies is 100% preventable if you're vaccinated quickly after exposure to the rabies virus. Once you have symptoms, the disease is fatal.
Rabies is a virus that attacks your brain and spinal cord. You get it from being bitten, scratched, or exposed to the saliva of an animal with rabies. Rabies is fully preventable if you get treated with vaccines as soon as possible after exposure. Once the virus has moved to your brain, causing symptoms, the disease will lead to death within days.
Dog Bite Law By State (2024 Guide)
Throughout the United States, many locations have passed specific laws that determine when and how dog owners are held liable for dog bites. These laws can be broadly divided into two categories: strict liability rules and one bite rules.
Strict LiabilityIn strict liability states, dog owners are always responsible for a bite that occurs on public property or when the victim is lawfully on private property.
Unless the dog is provoked or the bite victim was trespassing, the owner will generally be required to cover all damages associated with the bite. This is true even if the animal has never bitten before.
One BiteIn one bite states, by contrast, dog owners are usually held responsible for a bite only if there was reason to suspect the dog had a propensity to attack. This doesn't always mean the dog must have actually bitten someone before, but there must be some evidence to suggest a bite could have happened such as aggression or an attack on other animals.
In one bite states, it may be possible for bite victims to recover from dog owners under other legal rules, such as negligence if they can prove the owner was unreasonably careless–even if the dog hasn't bitten before. But, recovery under specific dog bite laws isn't possible unless there was a history of a problem with the animal before the incident occurred.
Hiker 'strangles Coyotes With Rabies With His Bare Hands After Being Bitten On The Leg'
An unidentified hiker in Rhode Island late last week killed a rabid coyote with his bare hands after the diseased animal chomped on his leg
Authorities said the unidentified hiker crushed the Coyote's air supply (Image: WRAL)
After being attacked and bitten on the leg on Friday, a hiker from Rhode Island killed a rabid coyote with his bare hands. According to authorities, the same coyote may have been involved in another attack on a human.
At the time of the attack, the unidentified man was hiking in the Johnston woods, a community located around 10 miles west of Providence's downtown. According to the Johnston Police Department, he stopped the animal's air supply and pinned it down by the neck.
The carcass was brought to a testing facility by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM), and it was there that the Rhode Island State Health Laboratories (RIDOH) verified the diagnosis of rabies.
READ MORE: Terrifying moment wild coyote mauls little girl's face at popular beach
Officials said they suspect the same coyote was involved in another attack on a human (Image:
WRAL)According to the Rhode Island DEM, the same coyote is suspected of attacking a dog walker on Thursday in the neighboring town of Scituate. "I urge anyone in Scituate and Johnston who may have come into contact with the coyote to call the RIDOH Infectious Disease division," Rhode Island State Veterinarian Dr. Scott Marshall said in a press release.
"If pet owners in these two communities believe their pet has interacted with coyote, call or visit your veterinarian," Marshall added. A coyote attacking a person in normal conditions is uncommon. Officials said that since 1994, there have only been three reports of rabid coyotes in Rhode Island.
Rhode Island State Veterinarian Dr. Scott Marshall advised pet owners to stay vigilant (Image:
WRAL)The Departments of Health and Environmental Management advise pet owners to protect their animals "by always maintaining control" and from letting them roam alone in addition to making sure they are up to date on their rabies vaccines. Furthermore, the authorities advise against feeding pets outside and interacting in any way with wild animals or stray or roaming domestic animals. Trash cans must also be "securely" covered.
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In 2020, a coyote that was caught in East Providence tested positive for rabies, prompting an animal control officer to warn the public to exercise caution.
Rhode Island authorities have had issues with coyotes in the past (Image:
Daytona Beach Police Department)According to a news release from the city, the coyote was seen acting abnormally on Eastern Avenue, on the grounds of the building that houses WHJY. William Muggle, an East Providence Animal Control Officer, caught the coyote. The Rhode Island Department of Health received a test sample that confirmed it had rabies.
"We ask that people use heightened caution, especially in that area," Muggle said. "Be sure not to leave pets or children outside unattended. Coyotes are crepuscular, which means they are most active around dusk and dawn, but are often seen outside during the daytime hours as well."
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