What is the mortality rate for rabies?
Once symptoms have appeared, the victim usually dies in spite of subsequent immunization and treatment with rabies immunoglobulin. There are only three documented cases of patients recovering from rabies infection. 50 000 – 60 000 human deaths from rabies are estimated to occur annually, despite the existence of an effective vaccine for postexposure prophylaxis (PEP)(at least 10 million doses of rabies PEP are used annually). In some countries, mortality is very low (for example, the USA has about one case per year) But rabies mortality is seriously underestimated, especially in Africa. For example, Tanzania’s human rabies mortality is estimated to be about 1500 deaths per year (about 5 deaths/100 000 persons), but national statistics report fewer than 200 deaths per year.
