Rabies Virus Symptoms, Causes, and Prevention

Rabies virus usually spread by a bite or scratch from an animal, then they symptoms be apparent and it becomes too late to save the infected person. However, they can only be treated properly if they sought help immediately.

What is Rabies Virus?

Rabies is widely known virus that solely spreads through a bite or a scratch from an infected animal to humans. Moreover, it can be fatal if not treated well. 

It can affect the body in two main ways, which include: 

• By entering the peripheral nervous system directly and migrating to the brain.
• By replicating within muscle tissue, where it is safe from the host's immune system, where it can enter the nervous system through the neuromuscular junctions.

Once the infection gets to the nervous system, it ultimately causes acute inflammation of the brain. Moreover, It then can cause coma and the patient will be dead soon after.

However there are two types of rabies, which are:

1. Furious rabies: this type happens mostly to 80 percent of the cases and causes the person to experience hyperactivity because of the virus.
2. Paralytic rabies: this type occurs in humans and mainly causes paralysis to the infected body.

Symptoms of the Rabies virus 

Symptoms of rabies vary from person to another and they can be similar to those of the flu, therefore they can last for days.

Moreover, these symptoms and signs of infection might include:

• Vomiting
• Agitation
• Anxiety
• Confusion
• Hyperactivity
• Difficulty swallowing
• Excessive salivation
• Hallucinations
• Insomnia
• Partial paralysis
• Fever
• Headache
• Nausea

Causes of Rabies

Rabies is mostly spread through the saliva of infected animals and some other cases some people might get the infection through an open wound. Moreover, any mammal can transmit the virus if they licked your skin or the open cut. 

some of these animals that can transmit the virus include:

1. Cats
2. Cows
3. Dogs
4. Foxes
5. Monkeys
6. Raccoons
7. Bats

Moreover, there are some risk factors that increases the risk of getting the infection. These factors might include living in developing countries, where the virus is more common. Moreover, scientists can also get the virus through working with it in laboratories.

Prevention of the Rabies virus

In order to be fully protected you should follow some steps to reduce the risk of getting the virus.

Moreover, these steps are mostly for your home routine as well as your daily life hygiene.

Therefore, they include:

• Considering the rabies vaccine if you're traveling
• Reporting stray animals to local authorities
• Protecting small pets from predators
• Vaccinating your pets