What are the signs and symptoms of rabies?
The rabies virus travels through the nervous system, eventually inflaming the brain. Early symptoms include irritability, headache, fever, and sometimes itching or pain at the site of the bite. The disease eventually progresses to paralysis, spasms of the throat muscles, convulsions, and delirium. Without preventive treatment, it is fatal. How soon after exposure do symptoms appear? The time between exposure and symptoms is usually 2 to 12 weeks, but it can be much less or much longer. Who is at risk for rabies? All mammals, including humans, can get rabies. What is the treatment for rabies? A series of vaccinations after exposure can prevent the disease. Once symptoms appear, there is no treatment. How common is rabies? In the United States, rabies in humans is rare because most pets are vaccinated against the disease. Only 36 cases have been reported since 1980, 21 of them linked to bats. Each year, about 40,000 people receive treatment for bites from potentially infected animals to
