What causes rabies?
Rabies is caused by a virus that belongs to the family Rhabdoviridae. The virus enters the muscles to the nerves and goes via the spinal cord to the brain, where it multiplies before spreading from there to the salivary glands, lungs, kidneys etc. The incubation period also varies with different strains of the virus, but the average time between bite and onset is four to eight weeks. The virus is usually transmitted by way of an animal bite. The virus is present in the saliva of an infected animal. When an infected animal bites another animal, the virus in its saliva may flow into the second animal’s bloodstream. The second animal becomes infected with the virus. On rare occasions, the rabies virus can be transmitted in other ways. It can enter an animal’s body through moist tissues around the eyes or lips or through a scratch in the skin. Some scientists believe the virus can even be inhaled. For a human to get rabies, 2 things must happen. : First, you must have contact with a rabid
The virus that causes rabies is the lyssa virus, and it is one of the few in that particular group which can cause illness in man. The rabies virus is good at ‘hiding’ from the immune system. As a result, no immune response really develops, so the body finds it hard to combat. After a bite, when the virus has travelled from the nerve pathways of the muscles into the central nervous system (CNS), it replicates quickly and spreads into many parts of the brain. The brain becomes inflamed and many functions of the CNS are affected. The virus spreads via the nervous system to many of the tissues of the body, including the skin, mucous membranes and salivary glands.
” Rabies is caused by a virus that attacks the brain. There are a few ways in which a person can become infected with the rabies virus, including animal bites, non-bite exposure, and human-to-human transmission. In most cases, what causes rabies infection is a bite from a rabid animal; non-bite exposure and human-to-human transmission are rare.
