Rabies is among the deadliest communicable diseases in the world with a case-fatality rate of ~100% with out post exposure treatment and vaccination. People usually get rabies from the bite of a rabid animal. It is also possible, but quite rare, that people may get rabies if infectious material from a rabid animal, such as saliva, gets directly into their eyes, nose, mouth, or a wound.
While human rabies deaths are rare in the US, with maybe 1-2 cases annually, according to the Global Alliance for Rabies Control, some 70,000 people die from this preventable viral disease each year.
Pamela Wilson, LVT, MEd, MCHES joined me for a comprehensive Q & A on rabies. Pamela works for Zoonosis Control with the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) in Austin and is the author of a number of articles on the topic of rabies.
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good effort
I enjoyed Q and A with Pamela Wilson about rabies. Reminded me of my experience with rabid animals in my Peace Corps village in the tropical jungle of Ecuador in South America. Good thing PC gave us all pre-exposure rabies vaccinations before our service began. I saw rabid dogs, got up the posse to kill a rabid dog and got it’s head to the Agriculture Ministry so that our village could get vaccine for our local dogs. Also saw a rabid cow.
After PC, I studied Microbiology and did special studies at the Montana State Diagnostic Lab Rabies section.