Rabies

Abstract

Rabies is a highly infectious viral disease that can easily ruin and eventually end the lives of both humans and animals alike. Rabies comes in two forms for animals. It comes in the form of paralytic rabies, which is the kind that puts you in paralysis right from the beginning, skipping the symptoms of agitation and excitability. Rabies also appears in the form of furious rabies, which is completely different in the way that it makes the victim restless, vicious and agitated. When humans get rabies, their symptoms start out with simple headaches and fevers and later progresses to terrible things such as becoming hydrophobic because of painful throat spasms and paralysis. A definite diagnosis of rabies needs lab analysis of saliva and brain tissue to detect the virus. However, rabies cannot be diagnosed during the incubation period. This means that the definitive diagnosis is only possible late in the disease or after the victim’s death

Symptoms

Rabies is a viral disease that can be contracted through punctured skin by an infected entity. Not only can animals be infected by it, but humans can too. If it is not diagnosed in time, then the probability of mortality will be almost certain. However, if caught in the early stages, rabies can be treated. An animal exposed to the virus may not have symptoms for two weeks, or even months. The virus can be found in an animal’s saliva days before any other signs appear.

In animals, rabies can come in two ways. One is furious rabies, which goes straight to the brain. The other is paralytic rabies, which severely affects your spinal cord. Both of these will kill you if not treated on time.

They both show the same early symptoms. This includes simple things like loss of appetite. ...

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...s is thirty to sixty days. A rock solid diagnosis is only possible late in the disease or after death.

In conclusion, rabies is an infectious viral disease with usually fatal results. There’s no way of getting a diagnosis before it is too late. If a person ever suspects themselves of having rabies they should go to a doctor as soon as possible.

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Works Cited

Jackson, Alan, Wunner, William. Rabies. San Diego, CA: Academic, 2002.

“Rabies.” eMedicineHealth.com. October 2005. Accessed July 19, 2006. http://www.emedicinehealth.com/rabies/page3_em.htm

United States Department of Agriculture. “Rabies Symptoms.” 2006. Accessed July 19, 2006. http://www.michigan.gov/mda/0,1607,7-125-1566_2310_2326-11626--, 00.html

“Neurological Symptoms and Diagnosis: Rabies.” July 2005. Accessed July 19, 2006. http://tjsamson.client.web-health.com/web-health/topics/GeneralHealth/Rabies