Why Death By Rabies Is One Of The Worst Ways To Die

Rabies is nothing short of terrifying. For those who contract the disease, there's virtually zero chance of survival once the symptoms appear, since there's no cure for the infection once it reaches the nervous system. Even squirrels can transmit the horrifying disease, as well as many common wild animals. Worse yet, symptoms can crop up from anywhere from three weeks to several months after a bite, making it difficult to even know if you're infected. This timeline depends on the location of the site of the infected wound. In any case, without medical intervention, a person infected by rabies is basically doomed to die a painful death.

Death by rabies is the stuff of nightmares. The first terror comes from the knowledge that once symptoms set in, there's no chance of survival. This fact alone is devastating, but the progression of the disease inflicts horrifying symptoms as well. The infection starts with flu-like symptoms, including weakness, muscle pain, generalized discomfort, and headaches. The site of the animal bite will likely also produce a prickling, itching sensation. Once such symptoms manifest, the victim typically has around 2 weeks before the "advanced" symptoms begin.

Advanced rabies induces anxiety, confusion, agitation, and even hallucinations. However, the most iconic symptom of advanced rabies is the aversion to water, also known as hydrophobia. Ironically, rabies victims suffer from extreme thirst while also fearing the water that would quench it. Victims also produce high volumes of saliva, and they may become aggressive. Finally, the patient becomes almost zombie-like, thrashing around and often biting those who come near. It only takes one or two weeks for someone to die of rabies once symptoms appear.

Rabies festers among bats, foxes, raccoons, and skunks, besides other animals across the world (although opossums very rarely get rabies). Eradicating the virus is virtually impossible, but stopping it from infecting people and pets is definitely possible. The first step is to attack the main source of human infections: dog bites. Most rabies infections arise from bites from feral dogs. Around 60,000 people die from rabies each year, especially in Asia and Africa.

Vaccines are the only way to prevent rabies from progressing into its lethal stages. In the Americas, a 40-year campaign to vaccinate pets and stock hospitals with vaccines has lowered the number of annual rabies cases down to nearly zero. Even in South America, where cases were once high (mostly from dog bites), rabies infections have dropped into the single digits thanks to widespread pet-vaccination campaigns, and human death rates are now virtually zero. Today, 95% of all rabies cases occur in Asia and Africa.

So what's to be done? The lack of preventative measures in Asia and Africa is largely due to funding. Vaccines are expensive for impoverished and remote communities, and the rabies vaccine requires costly refrigeration to store. That's why charitable organizations like Gavi have opened their doors to impoverished countries to apply for financial aid in establishing refrigeration and vaccinations for dogs. The goal is to end deaths from rabid dogs across the world by 2030. As demonstrated by the Americas, eliminating rabies infections is primarily a question of vaccinating dogs — all it requires is money.