WORLD RABIES DAY is being celebrated every year on SEPTEMBER 28 .

Rabies is a dreaded disease and is of zoonotic importance. Disease is generally caused by the bite of a rabid dog/ animal. Although rabies in humans is 100% preventable by appropriate medical care, more than 55,000 people in Africa and Asia, die from rabies every year.   Children are often at greatest risk as they are more likely to be bitten by dogs.

 

28.1 Clinical features and epidemiology

Rabies is a zoonotic disease and it may infect any warm blooded animal including humans. Virus is usually present in the saliva of the infected animal. The disease usually occurs in two clinical forms, furious and dumb (paralytic). The furious form is characterized by insomnia, confusion, agitation and often leading to delirium. It is also called as hydrophobia as the infected person cannot gulp water because of pharyngeal paralysis. Sometime profuse salivation and encephalitis are also evident. Progressive encephalitis leads to dumb form of the disease. Terminal stages include convulsive seizures, coma and respiratory arrest.