Rabies Treatment and Prevention

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Rabies: Treatment and Prevention

Abstract

Rabies is an aggressive and extremely detrimental disease. For years, exposure to rabies was analogous to a death sentence as there was absolutely no hope for a cure or a chance of survival after contracting it. Now, thanks to the development of many new vaccines, rabies has become a curable disease that can easily be prevented from destroying the lives of both humans and animals. However vaccinations are only a single facet in a wide spectrum of precautionary measures that can be taken to help halt the spread of this devastating disease.

Rabies is a pervasive, virulent disease that has had truly terrible effects on the world for centuries. Dating back as early as the year 2300 B.C., Mesopotamian documents describe the erratic behavior of dogs that were prone to fits of inexplicable violence and rage- what is now referred to as rabies (Jackson and Hunter 1). Rabies is just as grave an issue in today’s modern world as it was in ancient times. If left untreated, rabies wrecks havoc upon the bodies’ of both animals and humans, causing acute encephalitis and eventual painful death (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 1). Although rabies is extremely dangerous, thanks to scientists like Pasteur there are now various methods for treating this disease (Jackson and Hunter 5).

Rabies is classified as a zoonotic disease, which, by definition, is a disease that can be transferred from animals to humans. Currently there are two different vaccine regimens that scientists have created as a way to deal with this destructive malady: postexposure prophylaxis and preexposure prophylaxis (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 1). As the names imply, the key difference between these vac...

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...then that we can make progress and move that much closer to making this disease less of a terrible issue for both humans and animals alike.

List of Works Cited

"Compendium for Animal Rabies Prevention and Control 2006." Recommendations and

Reports. 20 Mar 2006. CDC Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report. 22 Jul 2007

Jackson, Alan C., and William H. Hunter. Rabies. London: Elsevier Science, 2002.

"Prevention and Control." Rabies. 01 Dec 2003. Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention. 18 Jul 2007 control/preventi.htm>. "Rabies Post-Exposure Prophylaxis Regimen." Animal Bites and Rabies Risk. 12 Sep

2006. Minnesota Department of Health. 21 Jul 2007 .

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