September 28 marked the World Rabies Day!

It was the 'World Rabies Day' on Sep 28 and was observed around the globe. Rabies is a viral disease transmitted by animals mainly through their bite that causes ainflammation of the brain in warm-blooded animals including humans.

The rabies virus travels to the brain by following the peripheral nerves. The incubation period of the disease is usually a few months in humans, depending on the distance the virus must travel to reach the central nervous system. Once the rabies virus reaches the central nervous system and symptoms begin to show, the infection is effectively untreatable and usually fatal within days.

Worldwide, the vast majority of human rabies cases come from dog bites. Over 50 thousand people die due to rabies every year.
Earlier, all human cases of rabies were fatal until a vaccine was developed in 1885 by Louis Pasteur and Émile Roux. Their original vaccine was harvested from infected rabbits, from which the virus in the nerve tissue was weakened by allowing it to dry for five to ten days but modern cell culture vaccines are also available now. The death from rabies is 100% preventable these days, if the vaccine is administered immediately after the animal bite.

It was the 'World Rabies Day' on Sep 28 and was observed around the globe. Rabies is a viral disease transmitted by animals mainly through their bite that causes ainflammation of the brain in warm-blooded animals including humans.

The rabies virus travels to the brain by following the peripheral nerves. The incubation period of the disease is usually a few months in humans, depending on the distance the virus must travel to reach the central nervous system. Once the rabies virus reaches the central nervous system and symptoms begin to show, the infection is effectively untreatable and usually fatal within days.

Worldwide, the vast majority of human rabies cases come from dog bites. Over 50 thousand people die due to rabies every year.

Earlier, all human cases of rabies were fatal until a vaccine was developed in 1885 by Louis Pasteur and Émile Roux. Their original vaccine was harvested from infected rabbits, from which the virus in the nerve tissue was weakened by allowing it to dry for five to ten days but modern cell culture vaccines are also available now. The death from rabies is 100% preventable these days, if the vaccine is administered immediately after the animal bite.