{"id":16276,"date":"2023-08-10T19:39:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-10T19:39:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/agilusdiagnostics.com\/blogs\/rabies-causes-symptoms-diagnosis-treatment-prevention\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T07:11:22","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T07:11:22","slug":"rabies-causes-symptoms-diagnosis-treatment-prevention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/agilusdiagnostics.com\/blogs\/rabies-causes-symptoms-diagnosis-treatment-prevention\/","title":{"rendered":"Rabies &#8211; Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, Treatment, Prevention"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is Rabies?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"color: black; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rabies is a zoonotic, vaccine-preventable viral illness. It is transmitted to humans and animals by bites or scratches, with <\/span><strong>saliva<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> being the most common transmission mode. It can spread faster if a rabid animal licks an open wound on a person. Mostly, domestic dogs are responsible for the rabies virus transmission to humans. It&rsquo;s an <\/span><strong>RNA virus<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from the <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Rhabdoviridae<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">family that is 100% lethal once clinical signs arise. Rabies may infect both domestic and wild animals.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What Are the Causes of Rabies?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"color: black; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The bite of a rabid animal causes rabies in people. Animals that can spread rabies are:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dogs&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cats&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cows&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Horses&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Goats&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ferrets<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bats&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Foxes&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hyenas<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Monkeys&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"color: black; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Because pets in India are vaccinated, stray dogs are the most likely source of infection.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What Are the Symptoms of Rabies?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"color: black; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After contracting the saliva of a rabid animal, symptoms might occur between 1 week to 1 year, depending on factors, such as the virus&rsquo;s entrance point and viral load.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: black; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Initial symptoms of rabies:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Headache with discomfort&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Severe sore throat&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fever&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tingling sensation\/ Paresthesia<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cough<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nausea\/Vomiting<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Weakness<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"color: black; text-align: justify;\"><strong>Severe symptoms of Rabies:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hyperactivity<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Anxiety and anger<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hydrophobia (fear of water)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aerophobia (fear of fresh air)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Convulsions\/Muscular paralysis at the bitten area<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nightmares, hallucinations, and sleeplessness<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Photophobia\/fear of light<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hyperventilation<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hypersalivation<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"color: black; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The symptoms of rabies don&rsquo;t appear until the virus has gone to the brain. Towards the end, a person may slip into a coma. Even with supportive care, people die within three days of getting into a coma.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How is Rabies Diagnosed?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"color: black; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Current diagnostic methods are ineffective in detecting whether a possibly rabid animal has transferred the rabies virus to you when it bites you. It&rsquo;s difficult to confirm before symptoms such as hydrophobia or aerophobia are visible. Your doctor may order many tests to identify the rabies virus. Virus isolation or a <a href=\"https:\/\/srlworld.com\/package\/lucknow\/100007830\/hgv-rt-pcr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">RT-PCR test<\/a> can be used to test saliva. Rabies antibodies can be evaluated in the blood, spinal fluid, or through skin biopsy. Still, tests may need to be repeated later to determine whether you are infected. Suppose you&rsquo;ve been exposed to the rabies virus. In that case, your doctor will recommend treatment immediately to prevent the virus from entering your body.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is the Treatment for Rabies?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"color: black; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wash the exposed area with soapy water if you&rsquo;ve been bitten or scratched by a potentially rabies-infected animal. It will help reduce the number of virus particles. Then, seek medical help right away. Suppose you don&rsquo;t know the status of your tetanus vaccine. In that case, the doctor will clean the wound properly and give you a tetanus injection and <\/span><strong>antibiotics<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: black; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Various factors are considered to treat rabies immediately by starting a course of rabies vaccination doses. Some of them include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The nature of the bite<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The type of animal (wild or domestic)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The animal&rsquo;s vaccination status.&nbsp;<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"color: black; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Doctors will recommend the rabies vaccination to the patient bitten by an animal and exposed to the <\/span><strong>rabies infection<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The rabies vaccination includes an inactivated or harmless form of the rabies virus, which means it won&rsquo;t get you sick. It activates the immune system, causing antibodies to be produced, which stay in the body and help guard against future <\/span><strong>rabies infections<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to Prevent Rabies?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"color: black; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To prevent the risk of developing rabies, practice these basic safety precautions:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: black; text-align: justify;\"><strong>1) Pre-exposure Vaccination: <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Veterinarians, animal handlers, rabies healthcare, and scientific employees should get vaccinated before encountering rabies-infected animals.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: black; text-align: justify;\"><strong>2) Vaccinate your pets:<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Find out how often cats, dogs, ferrets, and other domestic or farm animals should be vaccinated, and make sure they are up-to-date.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: black; text-align: justify;\"><strong>3) Protect little pets:<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Some pets cannot receive immunisations, so their owners must keep their pets away from wild animals. Please <\/span><strong>keep your pets confined<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> or supervised when you are at home.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: black; text-align: justify;\"><strong>4) Keep bats out of the house: <\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Seal windows and doors to keep bats out, and hire a professional to remove any bats.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: black; text-align: justify;\"><strong>5) Inform local authorities:<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Inform your local animal control or police department if you see a stray animal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: black; text-align: justify;\"><strong>6) Approaching wild animals is not advised:<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Rabies-infected animals are less wary than usual and may approach humans.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is the Cost of a Rabies Test?&nbsp;<\/span><\/h2>\n<p style=\"color: black; text-align: justify;\"><strong>Rabies test in India<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> can be carried out at diagnostic centers. Doctors can determine what a person&rsquo;s condition implies and choose the best strategy for therapy using symptom grading systems and a variety of diagnostic tests. The <\/span><strong>rabies test price<\/strong><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> varies depending upon the method of diagnosis.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: black; text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The bottom line is to take immediate action when an infected animal bites or licks you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: black; text-align: justify;\"><strong>Agilus Diagnostics, a subsidiary of Fortis Healthcare Limited<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rabies is a zoonotic, vaccine-preventable viral illness. It is transmitted to humans and animals by bites or scratches, with saliva being the most common transmission mode.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16752,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[204],"tags":[474,475,476,477],"class_list":["post-16276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diseases","tag-rabies-cause","tag-rabies-symptoms","tag-rabies-test","tag-rt-pcr-test"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/agilusdiagnostics.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/agilusdiagnostics.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/agilusdiagnostics.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agilusdiagnostics.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agilusdiagnostics.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16276"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/agilusdiagnostics.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16276\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16751,"href":"https:\/\/agilusdiagnostics.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16276\/revisions\/16751"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agilusdiagnostics.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16752"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/agilusdiagnostics.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agilusdiagnostics.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/agilusdiagnostics.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}