US Health Dept Issues Rabies Alert In Maryland After A Raccoon Tests Positive; Know The Dangers Of This Deadly Virus
Nov 05, 2024
News
Rabies virus is transmitted through direct contact from an infected animal
Authorities in the US state of Maryland have issued a rabies alert advising anyone who may have come into contact with a raccoon this week in Shadyside should contact officials after the animal tested positive for the virus.
Rabies is a viral disease that mainly infects mammals and is spread through the saliva of the infected animal, usually by a bite or scratch, officials said.
"Preventive treatment might be required for anyone who handled, fed, or was attacked by the infected animal. Rabies is a fatal disease, and preventive treatment (injections) must be started as soon as possible," the officials said.
What is rabies?
According to experts, rabies virus or RABV is transmitted through direct contact – like broken skin or mucous membranes in your eyes, nose, or mouth, with saliva or brain and nervous system tissue from an infected animal. Rabies is fatal but preventable and spreads to people and pets if they are bitten or scratched by a rabid animal.
Doctors say the rabies virus gets into your body when the saliva of an infected animal gets into an open wound, usually from a scratch or bite. It moves very slowly along nerves into your central nervous system and upon reaching your brain - the damage causes neurological symptoms. From there, rabies leads to coma and death.
Every year, around 60,000 people around the world die from rabies. In the US, human rabies cases are rare - fewer than three people get rabies each year. This is thanks to many people getting vaccinated soon after exposure.
Signs and symptoms of rabies
Experts say usually there would be no symptoms of rabies for several weeks after it enters your body. However, when the virus makes it to your central nervous system, you would begin to experience flu-like symptoms. A few of these symptoms are:
- Fever
- Tiredness and fatigue
- Bite wound burning, itching, tingling, pain or numbness
- Cough
- Sore throat
- Muscle pain
- Nausea and vomiting
- Diarrhoea
- Agitation and aggression
- Restlessness
- Seizures
- Hallucinations
- Facial paralysis
- Fear of water/drinking
- Delirium
- Coma
What are the phases in which rabies affects your body?
Doctors say rabies moves from an infected wound to your brain over time – leading to several phases that most people go through, including:
Incubation
The virus spends days and weeks in your body before getting into your nervous system you will not feel any symptoms during this time. This period is the best time to receive treatment for the deadly virus.
Prodromal phase
RABV travels through your nerve cells into your brain and spinal cord, causing nerve damage as it goes. In this phase, your immune system begins to fight back, causing flu-like symptoms, along with tingling, pain, or numbness where you were bitten.
Acute neurologic phase
In this phase, the rabies virus begins to damage your brain and spinal cord, causing aggression, seizures, and delirium.
Coma
Many people enter a coma in the final stages of a rabies infection. Rabies eventually leads to death.
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