The virus
which causes rabies is present in a varieties of wild and domestic animals. It
is usually trnsmitted to human as a result of bite from an infected dog.The
dog’s salivva contain the viruses and these enter the wounded tissues, travel
up the nerve and invade the spina-chord and brain. The symptoms which usually
appear in 1-4 months after being bitten, are high temperature, delirium,
convulsion, paralysis and death.The painful contration of the throat muscles
when trying to drink water, gives the diseases it other name “Hydrophobia”,
which means fear of water . Once the symtoms have develop there is no cure
and their resul is fatal.
There is a vacines against the
viruses, prepared from sheep’s brain or duck egg treated with viruses.
Unfortunately,the vaccines carries a risk of causing inflamation of the brain
{encphlities} and it is used unless a person receive a bite from an animal
suspected to be, or later prove to be infected by Rabies. In this case
anti-rabies serum is injected at once, follow by the injection of the vaccines
everyday for fourteen days. A vaccine prepare from human tissue-culture is more
effective and carries less risk of
harmfull side-effect, but it is very expensive.
If the animal which gave the bite
still alive after seven days, it is most unlikely to have being carrying the
virus rabies, so the treat of the patient can now be stopped.