Rabies as earlier said is a viral infection,an RNA virus to be specific, one from the rhabdovirus family. The thing about viral infections is that they are quite deadly and this one is no exemption, Rabies is quite deadly, haven caused the death of several thousands,it no longer becomes a joke. The virus is transferred to humans by bites from infected animals such as dogs,bats,foxes,raccoons,coyotes e.t.c, or when infected fluid such as saliva gets into the human system via skin cut or abrasions, as well as scratches. Though children,from statistics tend to own a large percentage of sufferers, the virus gets to infect all age group leaving no one exempted. When the virus gets into the human system, it's target is the brain, this it could achieve by directly entering the peripheral nervous system and then move to the brain or could as well hide in the muscle tissue where it gets protection from the person's immune system,while hiding s its gets to reproduce,after which it then goes to the nervous system and then to the brain.
When the virus successfully gets to the brain,it would then cause quite a not friendly inflammation there which could result to coma and then death. The dangerous fact about this disease is that, symptoms might not appear on the onset,but when they finally do,then the situation would have been very fatal and could lead to death,so getting to wait for symptoms before seeking medical care I quite dangerous as you might not get so lucky with it. So it is advisable to seek health care immediately if one gets bitten by any of the viral vector or there was a transfer of fluids from the vector into one's body.
With Africa and Asia getting to have the highest number of reported cases on rabies, this calls for prompt response by the government and individuals in those areas to ensure that this deadly disease is curbed,this could be achieved by observing some preventive techniques which would be discussed here.
SYMPTOMS
Symptom are exhibited signs one should watch out for to be able to state accurately what disease one suffers from, rabies has it's own symptoms which makes diagnosis easy,but as earlier stated, one do not wait for symptoms to be made manifest before seeking proper medical attention as that would be too risky.
When one is initially infected,such a person might not show any visible sign or symptom pertaining to rabies for about 2-10 weeks,during this time,most persons who might be ignorant about the mechanism of the rabies virus might be quick to conclude that they were not infected by it as they do not show any symptom of illness,but this is quite temporary after which the virus turns the table around.
Then visible symptoms starts to manifest and these includes discomfort at the site of the bite,cough,sore throat,fever,headache,paraesthesia at the wound site,anxiety,nausea and vomiting, these would last for a period of 2 - 14 days, after which the symptoms becomes more severe.
If one still has not gotten access to quality health care by now, the symptoms becomes acute as some neurological symptoms might evolve such as paralysis,hallucinations,insomnia,convulsions,aggression and confusion,excess saliva,fear of light and water,rapid and not consistent breathing e.t.c. This then results to coma which would tend to lead to death.
PREVENTION
- Vaccinating animals against the infection
- Vaccinating humans against the infection
- Keeping pet animals in-doors
- Enlightenment of the general public
TREATMENT
If one gets bitten,such a person is advised to thoroughly clean the point with water that has soap,detergent or povidone iodine for about 20 minutes after which he or she should seek medical attention immediately.
Hope you were enlightened,always remember that at Healthvim, your health is our pride.