Rabies General Information

Rabies is a zoonotic disease caused by RNA viruses in the Family Rhabdoviridae, Genus Lyssavirus. Virus is typically present in the saliva of clinically ill mammals and is transmitted through a bite. After entering the central nervous system of the next host, the virus causes an acute, progressive encephalomyelitis that is almost always fatal. The incubation period in humans is usually several weeks to months, but ranges from days to years.

Regardless of the risk of rabies, anyone who treats bite wounds must recognize and treat serious injury (e.g., nerve or tendon laceration), avoid infection (both local and systemic), and strive for the best possible cosmetic results. For many types of bite wounds, immediate gentle irrigation with water or a dilute water povidone-iodine solution has been shown to markedly decrease the risk of bacterial infection.

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