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Rabies

8 questions · Health & Medicine

Rabies is one of humanity's oldest and cruellest diseases and one of the few that is practically always fatal once the first symptoms appear. It is caused by a virus from the group of lyssaviruses, spread through the bite or saliva of infected animals. Worldwide it is above all dogs, but also foxes, raccoons and bats, that pass on the pathogen. After the bite the virus travels slowly along the nerves to the brain; the incubation period can last weeks to months. Once the brain is affected, the typical signs appear: heightened agitation, aggression, spasms and the famous fear of water, because even the sight of water triggers painful swallowing cramps. In the end come paralysis, coma and death. Yet rabies is at the same time one of the few fatal diseases that can still be halted after infection: if a person is vaccinated immediately after a bite, the outbreak can be prevented. The first vaccine was developed by Louis Pasteur in 1885, saving a child bitten by a rabid dog. In Germany classic rabies has vanished thanks to widespread vaccination of foxes with bait; worldwide, however, it still claims tens of thousands of lives, mostly children in poorer countries.

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4 of 8 questions with answers

How is rabies transmitted?

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By the bite of infected animals

The virus is in the animal's saliva.

💡 Did you know? Worldwide dogs are the most common source.

Which organ does the rabies virus ultimately attack?

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The brain

It travels slowly along the nerves to it.

💡 Did you know? That is why the incubation period can be very long.

Which famous symptom gave rabies the name „fear of water“?

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Hydrophobia

Even the sight of water triggers swallowing cramps.

💡 Did you know? Patients therefore avoid drinking.

How does rabies run once symptoms appear?

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Almost always fatal

There is then almost no cure.

💡 Did you know? All the more important is fast action after a bite.

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