Is it possible to die from rabies

In these people, thinking is typically unaffected, and most of the other symptoms of rabies do not develop. Examination and testing of samples of skin, saliva, and cerebrospinal fluid obtained by spinal tap.

Doctors suspect rabies when people have a headache, confusion, and other symptoms of the disease, especially if people have been bitten by an animal or exposed to bats for example, if they were exploring a cave. However, many people with rabies are unaware of having been bitten by an animal or exposed to bats. A sample of skin is taken usually from the neck and examined under a microscope skin biopsy to determine whether the virus is present. Samples of saliva are also examined to check for the virus.

A spinal tap Spinal Tap Diagnostic procedures may be needed to confirm a diagnosis suggested by the medical history and neurologic examination. Electroencephalography EEG is a simple, painless procedure in which This sample is also examined.

The polymerase chain reaction PCR technique, which produces many copies of a gene, is often used to identify the virus's unique DNA sequence in a sample of skin, cerebrospinal fluid, or saliva. Several samples of the fluids, taken at different times, are tested to increase the chances of detecting the virus.

Avoiding being bitten by animals, especially wild animals, is best. Pets that are not known and wild animals should not be approached. Signs of rabies in wild animals may be subtle, but their behavior is typically abnormal, as in the following:.

An animal that may be rabid should not be picked up to try to help it. A sick animal often bites. If an animal appears sick, people should call local health authorities, who can help remove it. The rabies vaccine should be given to people who are likely to be exposed to the rabies virus before exposure.

Such people include the following:. People who live or stay more than 30 days in developing countries where rabies in dogs is widespread. Three doses of the vaccine are injected into a muscle. The first dose is given right away called day 0. The other injections are given on day 7 and between days 21 and The injection site may be painful and swollen but usually only slightly. Serious allergic reactions are rare. Vaccination protects most people to some degree for the rest of their life.

However, protection decreases with time, and if exposure is likely to continue, people are tested periodically, and if the levels of protective antibodies are low, they are given a booster dose of vaccine. Immediately after being bitten, people should clean the wound thoroughly with soap and water. Deep puncture wounds are flushed out with running water. Then people should see a doctor. Doctors clean the wound further with an antiseptic called benzalkonium chloride.

They may trim ragged edges of the wound. Doctors also try to determine the likelihood that rabies was transmitted. Early determination is essential because rabies can usually be prevented if appropriate measures are taken promptly.

Immediately after an animal bite, no test can determine whether the rabies virus has been transmitted. Thus, people who have been bitten may be given rabies immune globulin and vaccine by injection to prevent rabies.

Rabies immune globulin , which consists of antibodies to the virus, provides protection immediately but only for a short time. The rabies vaccine stimulates the body to produce antibodies to the virus. The vaccine provides protection that begins more gradually but that lasts for a much longer time. Whether vaccine and immune globulin are needed depends on whether people have been previously immunized with rabies vaccine and what the type and status of animal are.

For example, doctors determine the following:. In the United States, the decision to give the rabies vaccine to a person who has been bitten by an animal depends on the type and status of the animal. For people bitten by a pet dog, cat, or ferret: If the animal appears healthy and can be observed for 10 days, the vaccine is not given unless the animal develops symptoms of rabies. If the animal develops any symptom suggesting rabies, people are given the vaccine and rabies immune globulin immediately.

Animals that develop symptoms of rabies are put to sleep euthanized , and their brain is examined for the rabies virus. If the animal is still healthy after 10 days, it did not have rabies at the time of the bite, and vaccine is not needed. If the status of an animal cannot be determined—for example, because it escaped—public health officials are consulted to determine how likely rabies is to be in that particular area and whether the vaccine should be given.

If there are no local public health officials and rabies is possible, the vaccine is given immediately. For humans who contract rabies, a bite from an unvaccinated dog is by far the most common culprit. Once a person has been bitten, the virus spreads through their nerves to their brain. Bites or scratches on the head and neck are thought to speed up the brain and spinal cord involvement because of the location of the initial trauma.

Following a bite, the rabies virus spreads by way of the nerve cells to the brain. Once in the brain, the virus multiplies rapidly. This activity causes severe inflammation of the brain and spinal cord after which the person deteriorates rapidly and dies. Both wild and domesticated animals can spread the rabies virus. The following animals are the main sources of rabies infection in humans:.

For most people, the risk of contracting rabies is relatively low. However, there are certain situations that may put you at a higher risk.

These include:. Although dogs are responsible for most rabies cases worldwide, bats are the cause of most rabies deaths in the United States. After the onset of symptoms, a doctor can use tests such as a blood, tissue, or saliva test to help determine whether you have the disease.

Tissue tests include the direct fluorescent antibody DFA test and a biopsy of the neck. However, after being exposed to the rabies virus, you can have a series of injections to prevent an infection from setting in.

Rabies immunoglobulin, which gives you an immediate dose of rabies antibodies to fight the infection, helps to prevent the virus from getting a foothold.

Then, getting the rabies vaccine is the key to avoiding the disease. Animal control will probably try to find the animal that bit you so that it can be tested for rabies. Getting a rabies vaccination as soon as possible after an animal bite is the best way to prevent the infection. The rabies vaccine is given in a series of five shots over 14 days. Doctors will treat your wound by washing it for at least 15 minutes with soap and water, detergent, or iodine.

This protocol is known as post-exposure prophylaxis. That needs to change. More than years after the first human vaccine against rabies was successfully used, we should be embarrassed at the lack of progress. On the occasion of the 10th World Rabies Day on 28 September, the global rabies prevention community and their supporters will hold events around the world to build awareness about how these lives can be saved, to draw attention to the public health inequality and to try to change change the status quo.

At all levels, from communities to international health publications, people will contribute what they can. There is change on the horizon. A year after the new Sustainable Development Goals were introduced, there is more emphasis than ever on ending health inequality , and neglected tropical diseases are specifically targeted for elimination.

The messages were loud and clear. We have the evidence that elimination is feasible, we have the examples of where it has been done; now we need the political will and financial backing to make it happen. A framework for the elimination for human rabies was agreed upon. Its strategic vision is an end to dog-mediated human rabies by Let's hope it works. Have you read? How can we eliminate canine rabies? Why the world is not yet rabies-free How do we combat rabies?

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum. US consumer prices have risen to their highest rate since , with consumer prices up 6. Economists say the inflation could be long-lasting. World-renowned leadership expert, Michael Useem, has developed a checklist that includes 16 mission-critical principles to make good and timely decisions.

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