Research Paper On Rabies

Rabies: An Overview of the Lethal Disease Rabies is one of the most fatal zoonotic diseases in the world. It remains an important public health problem worldwide and causes more than 55000 human deaths every year which is likely to be underestimated due to under reporting and misdiagnosis.( “Human and Animal Rabies,” 2010) The disease is caused by Rabies virus carried by many warm-blooded species, including human and canine. It is usually, but not always, spread by a scratch or a byte by infected animals. After entering animal body, Rabies virus travels along muscle and nervous system and destroy the receptors on nerve cell membrane. Eventually the central nervous system of the infected animals will be destroyed and the infected animal will

Also, before we decide to raise a strays or wild animals, we must consult some experts and have it examined thoroughly. Most importantly, if bitten by an animal, wash the wound and contacting a healthcare provider to determine if post-exposure treatment.(“2007 Annual Report,” 2007) The prevalence of rabies has been contained and the number of human death caused by rabies has dropped considerably in many countries after they carried out these prevention strategies. In case that someone got bitten by a rabies-infected animal, they can still be treated within 10 days after exposure to the disease. Those who are infected by rabies must receive one dose of human rabies immunoglobulin (HRIG) and four doses of rabies vaccine over a 14-day period. The treatment immediately after exposure of the disease can decrease mortality rate of this disease by 80-90%.(“2007 Annual Report,” 2007) Over the past 20 years, scientists have been working hard trying to find the cure of the disease. However, there is not much progress in the field since the diversity of gene in Rabies virus enables the virus survive under the effect of the medicine by adapting to environmental stress in a short period of time.(Dietzschold, Bernhard, Jianwei Li, Milosz Faber, & Matthias Schnell, 2008) Although there is no cure for the disease, we can successfully reduce the prevalence of the notorious disease by strictly following the protection measurements and receive treatment