Narayan Consultancy of Veterinary Public Health and Microbiology, Gujarat, India
Zoonoses, which are primarily transmitted from animals to humans, have serious implications on human and animal health both in developing and developed nations of the world [1,2]. Many zoonoses, such as anthrax, plague, leptospirosis, rabies, Nipah virus disease, Ebola hemorrhagic fever, Sars coronavirus, Marburg disease, Lassa fever, Japanese encephalitis and others carry high mortality in humans [3-11]. Among these diseases, rabies is an acute deadly infectious anthropozoonosis (disease transmitted from animals to humans), which is caused by a Lyssavirus that belongs to the family Rhabdoviridae [3]. It is single-stranded, negative-sense, non-segmented, neurotropic RNA virus, which cannot survive in the environment [12]. Virus is sensitive to iodine preparations, soap, ethanol, acetone, chloroform; and is inactivated by formalin, phenol, and sunlight. Rabies virus can be preserved at -70°C and also by lyophilisation [13]. Rabies is a neglected zoonosis of public health and economic importance. It is an occupational zoonosis of veterinarians, dog catchers, kennel staff, and animal handlers [3]. Rabies is the most fatal dog mediated viral zoonosis killing around 59,000 humans every year globally [14]. It is stated that rabies transmitted by the dog bite cause around 20,000 deaths in Africa every year [15]. In Ethiopia, rabies is responsible to kill 2,700 people every year [16]. The dog being the chief reservoir and vector is responsible to kill around 35 000 people deaths annually [17]. It is mentioned by Rupprechet and co-authors [12] that one woman aged 43-year-old from Texas, USA died from rabies following the bite of bat. Disease can occur in sporadic and in epidemic form. In this context, Putra and co-investigators [18] reported outbreaks of rabies on the Indonesian island of Bali (2008 to 2010) causing death of 78 people. Benyene and co-workers [19] described that rabies causes an economic loss of 8.6 billion USD every year. It is mentioned that once symptoms of rabies develop, rabies invariably carries 100% mortality. The disease has been reported from 150 countries of the world [3], except Antarctica, Maldives, Japan, New Zealand, Sweden, Norway, Hong Kong, Australia, and Singapore [3]. In India, two small islands namely, Andaman and Nicobar, and Lakshadweep are considered free from rabies [3]. Although the dog is the main transmitter of rabies, the role of other animals, such as bat, cat, mongoose, fox, wolf, raccoon, and skunk in the transmission of infection is also reported [20]. Rabies has been described in humans and also in many species of animals, such as bat, camel, cat, cattle, coyote, deer, dog, fox, goat, horse, jackal, lion, mongoose, pig, rabbit, raccoon, rat, sheep, skunk, squirrel, wolf, and others [3]. Disease is transmitted through the bites of dogs containing rabies virus. Infection can also occur by direct contact of fresh open wound, and abrasion of mucous membrane with saliva of a rabid animal. Airborne transmission has been observed in people who visit caves where bats roost, and also in the laboratory working with rabies virus. Very occasionally, inter-human transmission can occur through transplantation of cornea infected with rabies virus [3]. In humans, the incubation period of rabies ranges from 14 days to 1 year [3]. Longer incubation period is also reported [13]. Rabies in humans is known as hydrophobia, because patient shows fear of water [13]. Disease can occur in furious as well as dumb form [3]. Furious form is characterised by excitement, fever, malaise, headache, salivation, lachrymation, pain and irritation at the wound site, dysphagia, and convulsion. Progressive lassitude, coma, and death is observed in dumb form of rabies [3]. Clinical signs and history of patient (dog or other animal bites) help in tentative diagnosis. However, several laboratory tests, such as the demonstration of acidophilic intracytoplasmic inclusions, Negri bodies in the impression smear of the brain (hippocampus) by Seller’s stain, detection of viral antigen in infected tissues e.g. skin biopsy, corneal scraping or brain by immunofluorescence technique, isolation of virus from infected secretions like saliva, CSF or brain tissue by intracerebral inoculation in weaned mice (21 days or less), and detection of virus in saliva by RT-PCR confirm the diagnosis of rabies [3,21,22]. Presently, the fluorescent antibody test (FAT) remains the gold standard for post-mortem diagnosis of rabies [22]. Currently, no specific drug is commercially available to treat rabies affected patient. However, thorough washing of bite wound with soap and water, avoiding suture of wound; administration of muscle relaxant, high doses of vitamin C, besides rabies immunoglobulin, and anti-rabies vaccine are helpful in the management of rabies [3]. Several measures, which include immediate treatment of wound caused by a scratch or bite of a rabid dog or wild animal, compulsory registration and licensing of all pet dogs, destruction of stray or unwanted dogs, preventive vaccination of all pet dogs, oral immunization of wild animals, provision to provide free post bite vaccination to humans and animals, prophylaxis vaccination of high-risk groups like kennel staff, veterinarian, dog catcher, cave explorer, hunter, animal handler and laboratory worker, use of protective clothing (rubber glove, apron, gum boots) while attending a sick animal or cleaning saliva of the patient, reporting of rabies cases both in humans and animals, health education to public about the severity of disease, and importance of immediate medical attention after bite of dogs or other wild animals, and close collaboration and coordination between veterinary and medical authorities at local, state, and national level will certainly help in the prevention and control of rabies [3]. The credit of introducing rabies vaccine goes to Luis Pasteur, a German Scientist, who first used the rabies vaccine on a 9-year-old male child who was bitten by a rabid dog, and the boy survived after the vaccination [13]. In this context, Pal [23] stated that immunization plays a vital in controlling rabies. In case 70% of dogs are vaccinated to achieve herd immunity, rabies can be eradicated [24]. It is pertinent to mention that oral vaccination of foxes was successfully implemented in Europe [25]. Can oral vaccination of stray dog be helpful in the control of rabies, needs elucidation? Tinsa and co-authors [26] reported rabies encephalitis in a child following failure of rabies post exposure prophylaxis. It is concluded rabies is the most dreadful and fatal viral zoonosis of public health importance. Therefore, it is emphasized that prompt administration of post exposure vaccination to the animal bitten person, strengthening the vaccination of pet dogs, destruction of stray and unwanted dogs, and implementation of One Health programme by involving experts from veterinary, medical and environment fields, will certainly help in elimination of this terrible disease. Furthermore, there is a need to undertake detailed research to elucidate the reasons why the patient dies despite receiving full course of rabies vaccine.
Mahendra Pal. “Rabies Remains the Most Dreadful and Fatal Anthropozoonosis of Public Health Concern”. EC Microbiology 22.4 (2026): 01-04.
© 2025 Mahendra Pal. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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