RABIES – Causes, Diagnosis, Symptoms, Treatment & Prevention
RABIES – Here are the causes, diagnosis, symptoms, treatment and prevention in battling against the disease called rabies.
Definition
According to the World Health Organization, it is an infectious viral disease that is fatal after a lot of clinical symptoms.
It is mainly caused by infected dogs, both domestic and wild and can be transmitted via the dog’s saliva through biting or scratching.
Causes And Transmission
A person can get infected by the disease if they get scratched from an animal (usually dogs) that has rabies via a deep bite or a scratch, from the saliva. However nowadays, bats are also discovered to also infect humans with the disease
Symptoms
- For furious types:
- Hyperactivity
- Excitable behaviour
- Hydrophobia
- Aerophobia
- Death after a few days
- For paralytic types:
- Paralyzed muscles starting from the scratch or bite
- Coma
- Death
Diagnosis
- Clinical (if patient shows signs of hydrophobia or aerophobia)
- Intra-vitam and Post mortem diagnosis which is used in spotting whole viruses, viral antigens, or nucleic acids in infected tissues
Treatment & Prevention
- Post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) – immediate treatment after exposure to the disease
- Extensive wound washing – first’aid wound treatment
- Eliminating Rabies In Dogs
- Awareness and Education
- Vaccine
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