How Does Rabies Spread?
One can get rabies after a bite or scratch by any of the carnivorous animal, that carries the rabies virus. Fortunately, now a days very few people are getting rabies and most cases today are found in wild animals. The any mammal can get rabies, including our pets like dogs, cats, and even ferrets.
Rabies is a viral disease, which cause inflammation of the brain in humans and other mammals. The early symptoms of Rabies include fever and tingling at the site of exposure, followed by one or more of the following symptoms like violent movements, uncontrolled excitement, fear of water, an inability to move parts of the body, confusion, and loss of consciousness.
Once the Rabies symptoms appear, always the result is nearly death. The time period between contracting the disease and the start of symptoms is usually one to three months. The time period may vary from less than one week to more than one year. The time period is dependent on the distance the virus must travel along nerves to reach the central nervous system.
The saliva of an infected animal can transmit rabies if the saliva comes into contact with the eyes, mouth or nose. Generally dogs are the most common animal involved in spreading rabies. More than 99% of rabies cases in countries where dogs commonly have the disease are caused by dog bites.