| AT A GLANCE |
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What it is: Rabies is a viral disease that can affect all warm-blooded animals, including humans. The
disease infects the central nervous system, usually ultimately causing death. Domestic animals account for less than 10 percent
of the reported cases of rabies. |
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Transmission: The rabies virus is usually transmitted through the saliva of an infected animal. This normally occurs in
the case of a bite. Wild animals serve as the primary carriers of rabies to non-human animals, but humans get the disease mainly
through bats and domestic animals.
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Symptoms: The first symptoms of rabies may be flu-like, and may include a feeling of general tiredness, fever and
headache.
There may also be discomfort, numbness, prickling or tingling at the site of the bite. Within days, the patient will start to
have symptoms of brain dysfunction, including anxiety, confusion, agitation, delirium, abnormal behavior, hallucinations and
insomnia.
At this point, the disease is almost always fatal.
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Prevention: N/A
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Treatment: If you are exposed to rabies, your health care provider should give you one dose of rabies
immune globulin and five doses of rabies vaccine over at 28-day period. |
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