What Are the Treatments for Human Rabies?

Rabies is a virus many are aware of. However, how well does one really know rabies beyond popular media depictions? The facts about rabies might surprise you.

Causes

• The most common cause of rabies in humans is a bite from an infected animal. Animals that most commonly transmit the disease in the United States are bats, skunks, coyotes, foxes and raccoons, although any mammal can contract and transmit the disease.

Symptoms

• Symptoms only occur in the advanced stages of infection, usually only days before death, and may include headache, agitation, anxiety, confusion, difficulty swallowing, excess saliva, hallucinations, insomnia and partial paralysis. Once symptoms appear, it is too late for treatment.

Fatality Rate

• Rabies, when left untreated, is almost always fatal in humans. Rabies kills 55,000 people a year worldwide.

Treatment

• Treatment for rabies begins with prompt first aid. The wound should be thoroughly cleansed with soap and a virus killing cleanser. Afterwards, the most common treatment involves a one-time injection of rabies immune globulin (HRIG), and a series of rabies vaccinations, usually six injections over a period of 28 days.

Prevention

• The best way to prevent rabies is to vaccinate your pets, so they cannot contract the disease and pass it on to you. Also, those at high risk of being bitten by a rabid animal (such as veterinarians) can get a pre-exposure vaccination.