Symptoms of rabies

Written by Xiong Hong Hai
Infectious Disease
Updated on January 30, 2025
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After the onset of rabies, obvious clinical symptoms appear, including panic, irritability, and a range of neurological symptoms such as fear of wind, water, bright lights, and noise sensitivity. There can also be hyperextension, restlessness, hallucinations, and ultimately death due to coma. Once rabies begins to manifest, most patients die within 3-5 days, with very few surviving beyond a week. Rabies is a fatal disease, with a 100% mortality rate once infected, and there are no effective treatments available.

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Written by Xiong Hong Hai
Infectious Disease
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Can rabies be inherited?

Rabies is an infectious disease, not a hereditary disease, and there is no possibility of it being inherited. It is mainly caused by being bitten by dogs, cats, or bats carrying the rabies virus. If timely treatment and intervention are not administered after being bitten by these animals, there is a chance of contracting the rabies virus. The rabies virus attacks the human nervous system and eventually proliferates extensively in the brain, leading to the exhaustion of brain functions and resulting in death.

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Written by Xiong Hong Hai
Infectious Disease
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Rabies fear of water refers to hydrophobia, a symptom of rabies characterized by a fear or panic attack when attempting to drink water or when presented with liquids.

Patients with rabies are indeed very afraid of water. When trying to drink water, or even when seeing water or hearing the word "water," they experience uncontrollable spasms in the throat muscles and difficulty swallowing. Although they are very thirsty, they dare not drink water. In addition to being afraid of water, they are also afraid of bright lights, noise, and wind. These stimuli can cause whole-body spasms and pain, lead to opisthotonos, excessive nervous excitement, and eventually result in death due to coma.

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Written by Xiong Hong Hai
Infectious Disease
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Rabies is transmitted by what?

Rabies is an infectious disease primarily caused by bites from rabid dogs. According to the epidemiology of rabies in our country, it is mostly contracted from dog bites when no rabies vaccine has been administered. Of course, there is also a risk of infection from scratches by cats or dogs during their infectious periods or bites from infected cats, as well as scratches from bats carrying the rabies virus. To date, there have been no reported cases of human-to-human transmission. Rabies is a fatal disease, with a 100% fatality rate upon infection, thus prevention is crucial.

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Written by Xiong Hong Hai
Infectious Disease
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Can rabies be treated?

Rabies, once contracted, is incurable and leads to a 100% fatality rate. The reason rabies is incurable primarily stems from the rabies virus invading the human body and proliferating extensively within the brain's nerves. This leads to the destruction of brain tissues and the exhaustion of brain functions, making it impossible to treat. Therefore, prevention of rabies is crucial. If there is exposure to the rabies virus, it is necessary to administer the rabies vaccine, and in some cases, it may also be necessary to administer rabies immunoglobulin concurrently.

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Written by Xiong Hong Hai
Infectious Disease
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Does rabies spread through saliva?

Rabies is primarily transmitted through saliva. The rabies virus is likely to be present in the saliva of dogs or cats during the symptomatic phase. Dogs or cats carrying the rabies virus have a high concentration of the virus in their saliva during this phase. If bitten by an animal in this stage, there is a significant risk of infection. Prevention measures should be based on the actual situation, including vaccination against rabies and local administration of rabies immunoglobulin at the wound site. Rabies is a fatal disease with no treatment available, but it is preventable.