Rabies: A Neurotropic Virus

The rabies viral disease is almost always fatal following the onset of clinical symptoms according to the World Health Organization. The World Health Organization also concluded 99% of all rabies cases involved;

West Nile Virus is a neurologic or neuroinvasive disease that can be spread from one single mosquito bite (Lashley & Durham, 2007). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2015) states that about one in every five people that are infected by West Nile Virus will develop a fever with the accompany of other symptoms, and of the people infected less than one percent may develop serious, potentially life threatening, neurological symptoms. “West Nile Virus was first isolated from a woman in the West Nile province of Uganda in 1937” (Lashley & Durham, 2007, p. 338). West Nile Virus first appearance in the United States in August of 1999 in Queens, New York due to a suspicious case of encephalitis (Lashley & Durham, 2007). Active

Rabies is a fatal disease transmitted by the bite of an infected mammal. The disease travels from the saliva of the infected animal, into the wound of its victim, eventually attacking the brain and nervous system. At that time the virus get to the brain, the victim develops symptoms salivating, walking in circles, loss of appetite, fear of water, and aggression. After

The infected person could feel symptoms less than a week or over a year later (WHO, 2014), in the most extreme cases. Once the incubation period is over and enough of the virus has been replicated, it uses neurons in the peripheral nervous system and exploits axonal transport mechanisms so that it can eventually invade the central nervous system and reach its target – the brain (Gluska, S. 2014). Once in the central nervous system rabies causes acute brain inflammation, causing psychosis and extreme aggression (n.p. 2014). It then travels back through the peripheral nervous system, eventually concentrating in the salivary glands to be transmitted to the next victim. Because of the concentration in these glands, most victims suffer excruciating pain upon swallowing and develop a fear of liquids (Health Central, 2014).

Neuronal cells in the central nervous system could be targets for the rabies virus. This virus is usually introduced to the body through the skin by wounds. It begins to replicate on muscle cells before moving to the nervous system by using unmyelinated sensory nerves as a mode of transportation. When the rabies virus reaches the brain, it replicates and infects the neurons in most brain regions. The rabies virus then continues on to spread throughout the body using efferent neural pathways. Research found that rabies does not damage the structures of cells but instead alter the functions of neurons.

Even though there was no evidence of an bite. Reports say that around “one-fourth of rabies victims reportedly cannot remember being bitten,” and “ after an infection, the symptoms can take up to an year to appear.”(NYT Sept. 15, 1996 P. 8) And this is backed up even more by the description of the rabies virus as a “Swift and brutal killer.” and adding in the fact of “most patients die in a few days.” All of this can be taken as sufficient evidence to bring proof to this statement.

These vectors become infected via blood meals from an infected host which includes, but is not limited to, ground squirrels, wild mice, wood rats, marmots, deer, coyotes, and sheep. Most human cases occur between the months of March and September, with April through July being the peak months. The virus can be transmitted from person-to-person through blood transfusions and mother-to-infant in pregnant women. Laboratory transmission cases have also been reported. Extended viremia observed in both humans and rodents is attributed to the virus situating itself within red blood cells, which enables the viral particles to evade an immediate immune response. In the United States this virus is included on the list of agents screened prior to bone marrow

Rabies might have been the oldest disease to mankind (A Short History of Rabies). According “Rabies - A Layman's Explanation” by Mike Pedde. Pedde reported that rabies was previously well known as “arctic madness or Eslimo sled dog disease” because the European explorers, with a pack of sled dogs that were traveling to northern Canada. It

Some symptoms of rabies are fever, vomiting, headache ,depression, sore throat, and pain in the muscles around the bite site. Rabies is a dangerous disease if you don’t treat the bite site immediately. Rabies will attack your muscles and make them weak. It also affects the central nervous system which includes the brain and the spinal cord. Some of the later symptoms are insomnia, agitation, increased salivation, and difficulty swallowing. Death usually occurs within a few days after the symptoms start. The symptoms for dogs include jaw drop, bark tone changes, fever, pica, seizures, and the loss of inability to swallow food or

First, what is it and how are they spread. Rabies is a disease caused by a virus (Vaccines.org). It is commonly found in infected, warm-blooded animals and may be a serious risk factor to pets and people. Humans most often come in contact with the rabies virus (Michelle Badash, MS).

The word rabies is a derived from a Latin word in late 16th century. That Latin word is rabere ‘rage’.

Rabies is a highly infectious viral disease that can easily ruin and eventually end the lives of both humans and animals alike. Rabies comes in two forms for animals. It comes in the form of paralytic rabies, which is the kind that puts you in paralysis right from the beginning, skipping the symptoms of agitation and excitability. Rabies also appears in the form of furious rabies, which is completely different in the way that it makes the victim restless, vicious and agitated. When humans get rabies, their symptoms start out with simple headaches and fevers and later progresses to terrible things such as becoming hydrophobic because of painful throat spasms and paralysis. A definite diagnosis of rabies needs lab analysis of

Rabies is a viral disease that causes severe swelling of the brain in humans and other mammals (Prabhavathy, H., & Palanivel, K. M. 2015). Rabies is caused by lyssaviruses and is spread when a diseased animal cuts or bites another mammal. Bat bites are the most common source of rabies in humans, in the Americas, less than five percent are caused by dogs (Prabhavathy, H., & Palanivel, K. M. 2015). With an extensive treatment known as the Milwaukee protocol, few people have survived the rabies infection after the manifestation of the symptoms (Prabhavathy, H., & Palanivel, K. M. 2015).

During the sixteenth century, Italian physician Girolamo Fracastoro identified the fatal disease in humans and discovered that it was caused by a bite from a rabies infested animal and can be transmitted to other mammals, including humans, through saliva and other bodily fluids. It affects the mammal’s nervous system and causes encephalitis, an inflammation in the brain that can result in seizures, confusion, unconsciousness, and death. It wasn’t until 1885, when a French biologist, Louis Pasteur, created the first rabies vaccine for

Because rabies is transmitted through saliva, the disease is usually brought about into the body by a bite of an animal already infected with the lyssa virus (rabies). Rabies then deposits itself into the tissue of the host (person/animal who has the virus in them), infecting the host and later multiplying. From there, the virus travels from the nerves to the muscles, then to the brain and spinal cord (Easmon paragraphs 8-9). At this point, the virus is multiplying rapidly and soon the brain is extremely affected, which causes it to malfunction and the part of the brain that controls breathing shuts down (Buncombe paragraph 8).