Rabies facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Rabies |
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|---|---|
| A man with rabies, 1958 | |
| Symptoms | Fever, extreme aversion to water, confusion, lots of drooling, hallucinations, trouble sleeping, paralysis, coma, hyperactivity, headache, nausea, vomiting, anxiety |
| Causes | Lyssaviruses |
| Prevention | Rabies vaccine, animal control, rabies immunoglobulin |
| Treatment | Supportive care |
| Medication | Incurable |
| Prognosis | ~100% fatal after onset of symptoms |
| Deaths | 59,000 per year worldwide |
Rabies is a very serious viral disease that affects the brain and nerves in humans and other mammals. It is often called hydrophobia, which means "fear of water". This is because people with rabies can panic when they are offered drinks.
Early signs of rabies can include a fever and strange feelings where the bite happened. Later, people might feel sick, throw up, move wildly, or become very excited. They might also be afraid of water, unable to move parts of their body, confused, or lose consciousness. Once these serious symptoms appear, the disease is almost always fatal. Symptoms usually show up one to three months after getting infected. But this time can be shorter or much longer. It depends on how far the virus has to travel to reach the brain.
Rabies is caused by certain viruses called lyssaviruses. These include the rabies virus itself. The disease spreads when an infected animal bites or scratches a human or another animal. Saliva from an infected animal can also spread rabies if it gets into your eyes, mouth, or nose. Globally, dogs are the most common animals to spread rabies. In places where rabies is common in dogs, over 99% of human cases come from dog bites. In the Americas, bat bites are the most common source of rabies in people. Small animals like rodents (mice, rats, squirrels) rarely get rabies.
Programs to control animals and vaccinate them have greatly reduced rabies from dogs in many parts of the world. People at high risk, like those who work with bats, should get vaccinated before exposure. If someone has been exposed to rabies, a rabies vaccine and sometimes special medicine called rabies immunoglobulin can prevent the disease. This treatment works if given before symptoms start. Washing bites and scratches with soap and water for 15 minutes can help. This reduces the amount of virus and may help prevent the disease. As of 2016, only a very small number of people have survived rabies after showing symptoms. However, some research suggests that a few people might get exposed and develop natural protection without treatment.
Rabies causes about 59,000 deaths worldwide each year. About 40% of these deaths are in children under 15 years old. Most human deaths from rabies (over 95%) happen in Africa and Asia. Rabies is found in more than 150 countries. It is on all continents except Antarctica. More than 3 billion people live in areas where rabies occurs. Some countries, like Australia and Japan, and much of Western Europe, do not have rabies in dogs. Many Pacific islands have no rabies at all.
Contents
What Does "Rabies" Mean?
The name rabies comes from the Latin word rabies. This word means 'madness'. The Greek word for 'madness', lyssa, is used in the name of the rabies virus group, Lyssavirus.
Signs and Symptoms of Rabies
The time between getting infected and showing the first signs is usually one to three months. Early symptoms of rabies are often general, like a fever and a headache. As rabies gets worse and causes swelling in the brain, other symptoms can appear. These include slight weakness, anxiety, trouble sleeping, confusion, being very restless, strange behavior, and seeing or hearing things that aren't there (hallucinations). The person might also develop a fear of water.
Eventually, symptoms can lead to delirium (severe confusion) and then a coma. Death usually happens a few days after the first symptoms appear. It is extremely rare to survive once symptoms have started.
Rabies has also been called hydrophobia, meaning "fear of water." This describes how people in later stages of the infection struggle to swallow. They panic when offered liquids and cannot quench their thirst. Their body makes a lot more saliva. Trying to drink, or even thinking about drinking, can cause very painful muscle spasms in the throat. Because infected people cannot swallow saliva or water, the virus has a better chance of spreading. It builds up in the salivary glands and is passed on through bites.
Hydrophobia is common with "furious rabies." This type affects about 80% of people with rabies. It makes the infected person very aggressive. This helps the virus spread through bites. "Foaming at the mouth," caused by too much saliva, is also often linked to rabies. The other 20% of people might get "paralytic rabies." This causes muscle weakness and paralysis. This form usually does not cause a fear of water.
What Causes Rabies?
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A tiny image of the rabies virus, seen with a special microscope.
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More images of rabies viruses and special cell changes they cause.
Rabies is caused by a group of viruses called lyssaviruses. The main one is the rabies virus. These viruses are very small, shaped like a bullet. They have a protective outer layer. Inside, they carry their genetic information.
When the virus enters a body, it first infects muscle cells near the bite. Here, it can multiply without being noticed by the body's defenses. Once there are enough viruses, they attach to nerve cells. The virus then travels along these nerves towards the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). It moves quickly to the brain. After infecting the brain, the virus spreads to other nerves, including those that control the salivary glands. This makes it ready to spread to another animal through a bite.
How Rabies Spreads
All warm-blooded animals, including humans, can get rabies. Birds can also be infected, but they usually don't show symptoms and recover. Most animals can get the virus and pass it to humans. Around the world, about 99% of human rabies cases come from dogs.
Other animals that can spread rabies to humans include bats, monkeys, raccoons, foxes, skunks, cattle, wolves, coyotes, cats, and mongooses. Animals like bears, farm animals, and weasels can also spread it. However, small rodents like hares, rabbits, chipmunks, gerbils, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, rats, and squirrels are almost never found with rabies. They are not known to spread it to humans. Bites from these small rodents rarely need rabies treatment.
The virus is usually found in the nerves and saliva of a sick animal. It usually spreads through a bite. Often, an infected animal becomes very aggressive. It might attack without being provoked. This is how the virus changes the animal's behavior to help it spread. After a bite, the virus enters the nerves and travels to the brain. During this journey, the virus is hard to detect. Vaccination at this stage can still prevent the disease. Once the virus reaches the brain, it causes serious swelling. This is when symptoms begin.
It is theoretically possible for humans to spread rabies by biting. However, no such cases have ever been recorded. This is because infected humans are usually in the hospital. Casual contact, like touching a person with rabies, does not spread the disease. The virus can be in certain body fluids, but human-to-human spread is extremely rare. The few recorded cases happened through organ transplants, like corneal transplantation, from infected donors.
How Doctors Diagnose Rabies
Rabies can be hard to diagnose early on. Its first signs can look like other illnesses. The main test for rabies is called the fluorescent antibody test (FAT). This test is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). It uses special dyes to find parts of the rabies virus in samples.
This test is a quick and affordable way to find the virus. It works no matter where the sample came from. Doctors can also use other tests, like RT PCR, especially for older samples. The most reliable diagnosis comes from brain samples taken after death. Doctors can also test saliva, urine, and spinal fluid. However, these tests are not as accurate as brain samples. If possible, the animal that caused the bite should also be checked for rabies.
A newer test called LN34 was developed in 2018. It is easier to use on a dead animal's brain. This test helps doctors decide who needs treatment after a possible exposure.
Preventing Rabies
Almost everyone who got rabies died until a vaccine was created in 1885. This vaccine was developed by Louis Pasteur and Émile Roux. Their first vaccine used weakened virus from infected rabbits. Today, modern vaccines are much safer and more effective.
Vaccinating pets like dogs, cats, and ferrets is very important. People who are at high risk, such as those working with bats, should also get vaccinated. In many places, it is required to vaccinate pets.
Here are ways to help reduce the risk of getting rabies:
- Make sure your dogs, cats, and ferrets are vaccinated against rabies.
- Keep your pets supervised.
- Do not touch wild animals or stray animals.
- If you see a wild animal or stray acting strangely, contact animal control.
- If an animal bites you, wash the wound with soap and water for 10 to 15 minutes. Then, contact a doctor to see if you need treatment.
World Rabies Day is on September 28th. It helps spread information about preventing and getting rid of the disease.
In many parts of Asia, the Americas, and Africa, dogs are still the main carriers of rabies. In rural areas, it can be hard to vaccinate all animals. Oral vaccines can be put into baits and given to wild animals. This has successfully reduced rabies in places like Canada, France, and the United States. These campaigns can be expensive, but they are a good way to control the disease.
In the United States, human deaths from rabies have dropped a lot. This is thanks to widespread vaccination of pets and human vaccines. Most deaths now come from bat bites. These bites might go unnoticed by the person.
Treating Rabies
After Exposure
Treatment given right after a possible exposure can prevent rabies. This treatment is called post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). The rabies vaccine is 100% effective if given before symptoms appear. Every year, over 29 million people worldwide get vaccinated after a possible exposure. This treatment works very well, but it can be costly.
In the US, doctors recommend one dose of human rabies immunoglobulin (HRIG) and four doses of rabies vaccine over 14 days. HRIG is expensive and makes up most of the cost. It should be injected around the bite wound.
People who have already been vaccinated against rabies do not need HRIG. They only need two doses of the vaccine. Modern vaccines have side effects similar to flu shots. Older vaccines required many painful injections, but these are being replaced. For children under one year old, the vaccine is given in the thigh.
Washing the wound thoroughly with soap and water for about five minutes is very important. This helps reduce the number of virus particles. Using povidone-iodine or alcohol afterwards is also recommended.
If you wake up and find a bat in your room, or if a child or someone unable to communicate was alone with a bat, you should get PEP. This is because a bat bite might not be noticed.
After Symptoms Appear
Once rabies symptoms develop, death almost certainly follows. Doctors focus on making the person comfortable in a hospital. They give strong pain medication and sedatives. Ice chips can help with thirst.
A treatment called the Milwaukee protocol has been tried in some cases. It involves putting people with rabies symptoms into a special coma and using antiviral medications. The goal is to protect the brain while the body tries to make antibodies. In 2004, a teenage girl named Jeanna Giese was the first person known to survive rabies without prior vaccination using this method. She needed a lot of rehabilitation afterwards. This protocol has been tried on other patients, but it has not been widely successful. A report in 2025 asserted that some patients who survived under this protocol might not have had full rabies progression.
Scientists are also researching other antiviral medicines. These might help stop the virus from damaging the brain.
Outlook for Rabies
Vaccination after exposure (PEP) is very successful at preventing rabies. However, in people who are not vaccinated, rabies is almost always fatal once brain symptoms have started.
Rabies Around the World
In 2010, about 26,000 people died from rabies. This was down from 54,000 deaths in 1990. Most deaths happen in Asia and Africa. As of 2015, India had the most cases (around 20,847). China (around 6,000) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (5,600) followed. The World Health Organization and other groups aim to eliminate deaths from rabies by 2030.
India
India has a very high rate of human rabies. This is mainly due to many stray dogs. Controlling and treating rabies in India faces challenges. About 20,000 people die each year from rabies in India. This is more than a third of the world's total.
Australia
Australia is officially free of rabies. However, a related virus called Australian bat lyssavirus (ABLV) was found in 1996. This virus can cause rabies and is present in native bat populations.
United States
Rabies specific to dogs has been eliminated in the United States. But rabies is still common in wild animals. About 100 dogs get infected from wildlife each year.
Because people are aware of the virus and pets are vaccinated, human rabies is very rare in the US. From 1960 to 2018, 125 cases were reported. Most of these (62 cases) were from bat bites. Some cases (36) were from dog bites during international travel. In 2025, rabies was reported in a feral cat in Maryland.
Europe
Very few cases of rabies are reported each year in Europe. Some cases are from travel, others from within Europe.
In Switzerland, the disease was almost eliminated. Scientists used chicken heads with weakened vaccine to immunize foxes. Foxes were the main source of rabies there.
Italy was rabies-free from 1997 to 2008. Then, the disease temporarily reappeared in wild animals. This was due to an outbreak in the Balkans. A large vaccination campaign for wild animals eliminated the virus again. Italy became rabies-free again in 2013.
The United Kingdom has been free of rabies since the early 1900s. However, a rabies-like virus (EBLV-2) has been found in some bats. There has been one fatal case of EBLV-2 spreading to a human. As of 2026, there had been six deaths from rabies caught abroad since 2000. The last infection in the UK itself was in 1922.
Sweden and mainland Norway have been free of rabies since 1886. Bat rabies antibodies have been found in bats there. On Svalbard, animals can cross the ice from Greenland or Russia.
In Europe, five human deaths have been caused by lyssaviruses from bats. These happened in Ukraine (1977), Russia (1985), Finland (1985), the United Kingdom (2002), and France (2019).
Mexico
Mexico was certified by the World Health Organization in 2019 as being free of dog-transmitted rabies. This was because no cases of rabies spreading from dogs to humans had been recorded for two years.
Asian Countries
Rabies is preventable, and many countries have had success. However, it remains common in many southern and eastern Asian countries. These include Cambodia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, North Korea, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Half of all global rabies deaths happen in Southeast Asia, about 26,000 per year.
The cost of rabies control is a big challenge for many Asian countries. Treating wild dogs to prevent rabies is expensive. As a result, many countries cannot afford to apply all preventative measures.
Cambodia
Cambodia has about 800 human rabies cases each year. This makes it one of the top countries for rabies. This is partly due to a lack of animal care. Cambodia has many animals infected with rabies. There are few laws requiring pets to be vaccinated. In recent years, Cambodia has improved its medical care for human rabies. Clinics offer treatments and vaccinations. Schools also teach about rabies. However, animal control still needs improvement.
Philippines
The Philippines is among the Asian countries with the highest number of human rabies cases. Rabies spread by dogs is common there. Around 200–420 cases are reported each year.
Thailand
In 2013, human rabies was almost eliminated in Thailand. New rules required all domestic dogs to be vaccinated. Programs also vaccinated wild dogs. However, neighboring countries like Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar could not afford similar controls. Infected animals continued to cross borders and infect people in Thailand. These border areas are called Rabies Red areas. Thailand continues to struggle with rabies there.
Thailand has the resources and medicine to fight rabies. They have rules for children to get vaccinated before school. Clinics are available for those bitten by a possibly rabid animal. However, some people still refuse treatment. About 10 people die each year because they do not seek medical help.
History of Rabies
Rabies has been known for a very long time, since about 2000 BC. The first written record is from ancient Mesopotamia (around 1930 BC). It said that dog owners should take steps to prevent bites if their dog showed rabies symptoms. If a person was bitten by a rabid dog and died, the owner faced a large fine.
In ancient Greece, people believed rabies was caused by Lyssa, the spirit of mad rage.
Many folk remedies were tried in ancient times, but they did not work. Rabies was a major problem in the 1800s. In France and Belgium, people used a heated "St Hubert's Key" to burn the wound.
In ancient times, people thought rabies came from the tongue. They would cut a part of the tongue. This practice stopped when the real cause of rabies was discovered. Louis Pasteur's vaccine in 1885 was a huge success. It was improved over time to reduce side effects.
Even today, the fear of rabies is strong. The disease and its symptoms, like agitation, have inspired many stories. These often feature zombies or similar creatures. They show rabies as a mutated virus causing rage or illness.
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A medieval drawing showing two monks with rabies being carried before St. Mary.
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A woodcut from the Middle Ages showing a rabid dog.
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A book cover about the nature and cause of rabies from 1777.
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An Arabic drawing from the medieval times showing a rabid dog biting a man, around 1224.
Rabies in Other Animals
Rabies can infect all mammals. There are three stages of infection in the brain and nervous system. The disease often progresses faster in animals than in humans. It causes similar symptoms and almost always leads to death.
The first stage lasts one to three days. Animals show changes in their behavior. This is called the prodromal stage. The second stage is the excitative stage, lasting three to four days. This is often called "furious rabies." The animal becomes very reactive to sounds or touch. It tends to bite or attack anything nearby.
Sometimes, animals skip the excitative stage and go straight to paralysis. This is the third stage, the paralytic phase. It happens when the virus damages the nerves that control muscles. Animals might become clumsy. Their back legs might become paralyzed. They might drool a lot and have trouble swallowing. This is because their face and throat muscles are paralyzed. Death usually happens because they stop breathing.
See also
In Spanish: Rabia para niños
- Eradication of infectious diseases
- Madstone (folklore)