Rabies

Why push for health systems strengthening? Because there are not enough Global Funds, PEPFARs and President’s Initiatives to support our vertical response to every preventable or treatable disease out there.


I am glad the readers of this blog probably have no use for the following information. I wish that were the case for everyone.

Rabies is a viral disease that causes acute encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) in warm-blooded animals. It is zoonotic (i.e., transmitted by animals), most commonly by a bite from an infected animal but occasionally by other forms of contact. Rabies is almost invariably fatal if post-exposure prophylaxis is not administered prior to the onset of severe symptoms.

The rabies virus travels to the brain by following the peripheral nerves. The incubation period of the disease is usually a few months in humans, depending on the distance the virus must travel to reach the central nervous system. Once the rabies virus reaches the central nervous system and symptoms begin to show, the infection is effectively untreatable and usually fatal within days.

Early-stage symptoms of rabies are malaise, headache and fever, progressing to acute pain, violent movements, uncontrolled excitement, depression, and hydrophobia. Finally, the patient may experience periods of mania and lethargy, eventually leading to coma. The primary cause of death is usually respiratory insufficiency.

Worldwide, the vast majority of human rabies cases (approximately 97%) come from dog bites. Rabies kills around 55,000 people a year, mostly in Asia and Africa.

Source: Wikipedia @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabies