Rabies

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Rabies

Central nervous system

Rabies

Symptoms:

Low-grade fever (102 degrees F or lower)
Pain at the site of the bite
Exaggerated sensation at the bite site
Swallowing difficulty (drinking produces spasms of the larynx) or swallowing difficulty with liquids only
Restlessness
Excitability
Muscle spasms
Convulsions
Numbness and tingling
Loss of muscle function
Loss of feeling in an area of the body
Drooling
Anxiety, stress, and tension
Positive Babinski's reflex

Signs and tests:

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If an animal bites you, try to gather as much information about the animal as possible. Call yourlocal animal control authorities to safely capture the animal. If rabies is suspected, the animal will be watched for signs of rabies.

A special test called immunofluorescence is used to look atthe brain tissue afteran animal is dead.This test can reveal whether or notthe animal had rabies.

The same test can be used to check for rabies in humans, using a piece of skin from the neck. Doctors may also look for the rabies virus inyour saliva or spinal fluid.

References:

Marx J. Rosen?s Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 5th ed. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby; 2002:1837-1838.

Stantic-Pavlinic M. Public health concerns in bat rabies across Europe. Euro Surveill. 2005 Nov 1;10(11) .

Brookes SM, Aegerter JN, Smith GC. European bat lyssavirus in Scottish bats. Emerg Infect Dis. 2005 Apr;11(4):572-8.

Cohen J, Powderly WG. Infectious Diseases. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Elsevier; 2004:1503-1506.