Rabies

Rabies is a neurotropic virus, viral zoonotic disease that causes acute encephalitis.

Usually, people (and animals) die from it (it is fatal). There is no cure for it. People who are treated soon after becoming infected have a chance to survive.

The disease is transmitted through the saliva and the blood. The usual form of getting it is a bite of a rabid mammal. Pets, like dogs need to be vaccinated against it, in most countries.

Treatment for Rabies

There is no cure for Rabies. There is a vaccine against it. The vaccine was first developed by Louis Pasteur and Pierre Paul Émile Roux in 1885. This vaccine used a live virus grown in rabbits, and weakened (through drying it). The first person to be vaccinated was Joseph Meister (a 9 year old boy who had been bitten by a dog). Vaccines similar to this are still used today, but other vaccines (growing the virus using cell cultures) are more used.

Wound care involving soap and a virus-killing cleanser (this should always be done for any animal bite)
A onetime injection of human rabies immune globulin (or HRIG), which is a substance that provides rapid, short-term protection against rabies
Injection of the first of a series of vaccine doses to provide protection against rabies after an exposureThe decision to treat for rabies: The likelihood of an animal having rabies depends heavily on the species of the animal, its behavior, and where you were exposed to the animal. For example, in some areas of the country, such as the Texas-Mexico border, stray dogs have an extremely high likelihood of being rabid. In other areas, stray dogs may have little chance of being rabid.