The Effects of Freezing on Rabies

Rabies is a virus that affects warm-blooded animals. It is most often transmitted through the bite of a rabies-infected animal. When infected with rabies, the host's brain swells, which can lead to death. Symptoms of rabies include flu-like symptoms, slight or partial paralysis, insomnia and anxiety.

Although there is no cure for rabies, scientists have studied different treatment options. One potential method of destroying the rabies virus is by exposing it to freezing temperatures. This method, however, only works in laboratory settings.

History of Freezing Rabies

• Up until the 19th century, little was known about the rabies virus. It wasn't until Louis Pasteur's experiments in 1885 that science began to shed light onto rabies and the virus that causes it. The idea of testing the reaction of rabies to cold temperatures was pioneered by G. S. Turner and C. Kaplan in the 1960s. By exposing rabies to freezing temperatures, they hoped to discover weaknesses in the virus's makeup and learn about its dying process.

The Freezing Rabies Study

• The freezing rabies study was called "Some Properties of Fixed Rabies Virus." In the study, rabies was cultured in animal tissue. It was then exposed to freezing temperatures and monitored. The rabies virus remained infective (alive) for two hours at freezing temperatures, but lost 90 percent of its infectiousness between hours four and six. By hour 24, the virus was dead.

Freezing Rabies Compared to Heating Rabies

• Turner and Kaplan's study also compared freezing rabies to heating rabies. The method for the heating rabies study was identical to the freezing rabies study. It revealed that rabies is as sensitive to high temperatures as it is to low temperatures. Much like in the freezing rabies study, when heated to high temperatures, rabies endured for two hours and then quickly became sluggish. After being heated for 24 hours, the virus was no longer infective.