Rabies: Insidious and deadly

CEBU, Philippines - Between 300 and 400 Filipinos die of rabies every year. Of the numbers, dog bites account for most of the cases. Only one in ten dogs in the country is vaccinated against rabies.

Considering the millions of dogs living among humans in the country, someone being bitten by a dog is not a rare incident. In fact, dogs have become people's most handy companions. Thus, they are not to be feared; instead dogs have to be cared for. Properly immunizing pet dogs does a lot in helping these sweet animals avoid contracting rabies infection.

For the loyal companionship that dogs give their owners, the animals have the right to their owners' care. In the first place, caring for pet dogs, including having these vaccinated against rabies, is a sign of responsible pet ownership. Otherwise, as a government anti-rabies campaign puts it: "The failure to eradicate rabies in the country greatly affects the public health and safety of the Filipino people."

Truth is, rabies is not only a Philippine problem, In fact, there’s an annual event called World Rabies Day, on September 28. It is a global movement to raise awareness on the rabies menace across 100 different countries. Since it began in 2007, the movement has shared life-saving rabies prevention messages to millions of people.  This year's theme is "Rabies: Educate. Vaccinate. Eliminate."

Rabies is an infectious viral disease that is almost always fatal following the onset of clinical signs. In up to 99 percent of human cases, the rabies virus is transmitted by domestic dogs, according to data at the website www.who.int. Rabies affects domestic and wild animals, and is spread to people through bites or scratches, usually via saliva.

The disease is present on all continents with the exception of Antarctica, according to the website, adding that more than 95 percent of human deaths occur in Asia and Africa. The website also states that rabies is a neglected disease of poor and vulnerable populations, whose deaths are rarely reported and where human vaccines and immunoglobulin are not readily available or accessible. Most rabies cases are noted to occur mainly in remote rural communities where children between the age of five and14 years are the frequent victims.

The rabies virus infects the brain and ultimately leads to death. After being bitten by a rabid animal, the virus is deposited in the muscle and subcutaneous tissue. For most of the incubation period, which is usually one to three months, the virus stays close to the exposure site. And then the virus travels via peripheral nerves to the brain and from there, again via peripheral nerves, to nearly all parts of the body.

According to the website www.medicinenet.com, any mammal can spread rabies. It cites that in the United States, rabies is most often transmitted via the saliva of bats, coyotes, foxes, raccoons, and skunks. In the developing world, like the Philippines, rabies is transmitted mostly by stray dogs. The virus has also been found in cows, cats, ferrets, and horses. The local health units are likely to have a list of animals in the area which have been found to carry the rabies virus.

The risk factors for rabies include any activity that brings someone in contact with possible rabid animals, such as traveling in an area where rabies is more common, as well as outdoor activities near bats and other possible rabid animals. Rabies symptoms can occur as fast as within the first week of the infection.

The early symptoms of rabies are quite general and include weakness, fever, and headaches. Without a history of a potential exposure to a rabid animal, these symptoms would not raise the suspicion of rabies as they are very similar to the common flu or other viral syndromes. This fact makes the rabies threat all the more dangerous - and ever so deadly!

The biggest step that can be taken to mitigate the rabies threat is anti-rabies vaccination, both of pet animals that have been found to be penetrable by the virus and of the pet owners themselves. There's nothing that could be better than playing safe. Especially with dogs that are fond of liking their beloved owners as a gesture of their affection, even just a slight fleck of infected saliva can already mean certain death.  (FREEMAN)