What kind of pain does a person feel with rabies. The first symptoms and signs of rabies in humans, vaccination and treatment

Sources of the rabies virus are dogs, cats, foxes, wolves, raccoons, bats. Man is a random link in the process of spreading the virus.

Are there cases of human-to-human transmission of the disease?

AT saliva sick person the virus is present. So, when communicating with a sick person, as with an animal, it is better to observe the necessary precautionary measures. In almost all cases, rabies is the result of a bite or saliva that contains the virus on the mucous membranes. Moreover, the virus in saliva in dogs after infection is on average 5 days, in cats - 3 days, in bats - up to several months, including asymptomatic and symptomatic periods of the disease.

What bites are considered the most dangerous?

Are considered heavy multiple bites and deep, as well as any injuries to the head, face, neck, hands. The virus penetrates through scratches, abrasions, through open wounds and mucous membranes of the mouth and eyes. With a bite in the face and head, the risk of getting rabies is 90%, with bites in the hands - 63%, in the hands and feet - 23%. All animals that change their behavior or lose their guard, attack for no reason, should be taken into account. like sick.

How does rabies usually occur in humans?

Incubation period rabies ranges from short (9 days) to long (99 days), but averages 30–40 days. This period can be shortened if the bite was on the head, and lengthened with bites on the limbs. All this time the person feels satisfactorily. Well, except that he feels pulling and aching pains at the site of the bite and along the nerves and itching appears. The scar sometimes becomes inflamed. These symptoms are especially characteristic within 1-14 days before the onset of the manifestations of the disease.

What are the symptoms of rabies?

The first symptoms of rabies: weakness, headache, general malaise, lack of appetite, slight fever, cough, runny nose, sore throat, stomach, vomiting, diarrhea. They can be attributed to any disease, but most often they are misdiagnosed as a respiratory or intestinal infection.

Then comes the period of the height of the disease and acute neurological disorders- the first signs of damage to the nervous system appear. Apathy and depression are replaced by anxiety, increased excitability, emotional activity, even aggressiveness. Patients are disoriented, they try to run away, bite, attack with fists, they have convulsions, hallucinations, the psyche changes. A characteristic feature of rabies in humans is phobias: severe painful spasms of the muscles of the pharynx and larynx, accompanied by convulsions that distort the face, hiccups, vomiting, fear. These symptoms can be provoked by the sight of water, the thought or words about it (hydrophobia), the breath of air (aerophobia), bright light (photophobia), loud sound (acousticophobia). Between these episodes, the patient is usually calm, fully conscious, oriented and sociable.

After 1-2 days, profuse liquid salivation, cold sticky sweat appears. The period of excitation lasts 2-4 days, and if the patient does not die from a sudden stop of breathing or heart, then the disease passes into the last stage 1-3 days before death - paralytic. The patient calms down, fear and anxious-dreary state pass, attacks stop, a person can eat and drink. Ominous Calm lasts 1-3 days. At the same time, tachycardia, lethargy, apathy increase, blood pressure drops, and profuse salivation continues. Paresis and paralysis of the limbs and cranial nerves appear. The functions of the pelvic organs are disturbed, often the temperature rises to 42 ° C. Death usually occurs suddenly from paralysis of the respiratory and cardiovascular centers.

Total duration of illness averages 3–7 days. Sometimes with rabies there is no period of excitation and paralysis slowly develops. This is how the disease manifests itself after the bites of bats.

When to get vaccinated against rabies?

Any bite from a wild or domestic animal with unusual behavior should be considered suspicious? And is it necessary to vaccinate against rabies in this case? Rabies mainly affects those who didn't go to the doctor or applied late. Or the doctor did not very persistently convince of the need for vaccination. Another reason - violation of the regimen during vaccinations and unwillingness to complete the course of immunization. And this is very important.

Vaccinations do in all trauma centers. All bitten patients should go there. In practice, KOKAV is mainly used. The vaccine is administered intramuscularly on the 0th, 3rd, 7th, 14th, 30th and 90th day. When attacked by a known dog or cat, they must be observed for 10 days. If during this time the animal remains alive, then vaccinations are not done or stopped.

In case of severe injuries, the bitten person is prescribed simultaneously with the vaccine rabies immunoglobulin. Its effectiveness is the higher, the less time has passed since the bite. Most of the dose of immunoglobulin is administered by irrigating the tissues around the wound.

extremely important treat the wound carefully, and as soon as possible after the bite. It should be washed with plenty of water and soap or a disinfectant. Treat the edges of the wound with alcohol or 5% tincture of iodine. Leave open until immunoglobulin treatment. Surgical treatment of the wound during the first 3 days is contraindicated. In parallel, tetanus toxoid is administered.

Rabies is a viral infection that occurs with the development of severe progressive damage to the brain and spinal cord with a fatal outcome.

Rabies virus variants

• Street (wild), circulating in natural conditions among animals;
• Fixed, used to make rabies vaccines (does not cause disease).

Reproduction of the rabies virus occurs in the cells of the medulla oblongata, hippocampus, lumbar part of the spinal cord.

The rabies virus is unstable in the external environment, quickly dies when boiled and under the influence of various disinfectants; however, at low temperatures it can persist for a long time.

The main reservoirs of the virus and sources of infection are sick carnivorous wild and domestic animals: foxes (the most significant reservoir), wolves, raccoon dogs, jackals, dogs, cats. Infection of a person occurs when a bite or saliva of a rabid animal comes into contact with damaged skin. The virus is not transmitted from person to person. The most dangerous bites are the head, neck and hands. Susceptibility to rabies is not universal, and the frequency of development of the disease is determined by the bite zone of a rabid animal: with bites to the face, rabies occurs in 90% of cases, with bites in the hand - 63%, with bites in the legs - 23%.

The virus enters the human body through damage to the skin, usually through the bites of sick animals. It should be remembered that the attack of a sick animal does not always lead to the development of rabies: the frequency of registered cases does not exceed 15%, which can be explained by the relative resistance of the human body to the virus.

The rabies virus replicates in muscle and connective tissues, where it persists for weeks or months. The virus then migrates along the nerves to the brain, where it replicates in the gray matter and migrates back to various tissues (including the salivary glands).

Rabies Symptoms

Infection with rabies is possible through a bite or contact with the saliva of a rabid animal on damaged skin.

• Incubation period - from 10 days to 1 year; significant variability of this period is determined by the following factors: the location of the bite (the shortest - with bites to the head, hands), the age of the bitten (in children, the period is shorter than in adults), the size and depth of the wound.
• The total duration of the disease is 4-7 days, in rare cases - 2 weeks or more.
• In the initial period of rabies, the first signs are found at the site of the bite: the scar swells again, turns red, itching, pain appear along the nerves closest to the bite. General malaise, fever, sleep disturbances are noted.
• Peak period of rabies: attacks of hydrophobia, occurring with painful convulsive contractions of the muscles of the pharynx and larynx, noisy breathing, sometimes stopping breathing when trying to drink, and later at the sight or sound of pouring water, verbal mention of it. Attacks can be provoked by the movement of air, bright light, loud sound. View of the patient during an attack: with a cry, he throws back his head and torso, throws forward trembling hands, pushes away a vessel of water; shortness of breath develops (the patient inhales air with a whistle). Attacks last a few seconds, after which muscle spasms disappear.
• Attacks of psychomotor agitation: patients become aggressive, scream and rush about, break furniture, showing inhuman strength; possible development of auditory and visual hallucinations; note increased sweating, profuse salivation; the patient cannot swallow saliva and constantly spits it out.
• In the paralytic period of rabies, calmness sets in: fear, an anxious and melancholy state, attacks of hydrophobia disappear, and there is hope for recovery (ominous calm). There are paralysis of the limbs and damage to the cranial nerves of various localization, an increase in body temperature above 40 ° C, sweating, a decrease in blood pressure (hypotension), and a decrease in heart rate.

Death occurs from cardiac arrest or paralysis of the respiratory center.

Rabies diagnosis

Laboratory confirmation of the diagnosis of rabies is only possible post-mortem based on the following methods:

• Detection of Babesh-Negri bodies in the cells of the ammon horn;
• Detection of rabies virus antigen in cells using immunofluorescent analysis and ELISA;
• Setting up a biological test with infection of newborn mice or Syrian hamsters with a virus from the saliva of patients, suspension of brain tissue or submandibular glands;
• It is fundamentally possible during the life of the patient to isolate the virus from saliva or cerebrospinal fluid, as well as to test the reaction of fluorescent antibodies on imprints from the cornea or skin biopsies, but in clinical practice this is difficult, and the diagnosis is based on the clinical manifestations of the disease.

Treatment

There is no specific therapy for rabies. Carry out supportive treatment (hypnotics, anticonvulsants, painkillers, etc.).

Rabies vaccination

Used for vaccination

• dry inactivated cultural anti-rabies vaccine RABI-VAK-Vnukovo-32,
• dry inactivated concentrated purified culture rabies vaccine
• anti-rabies immunoglobulin.

Detailed schemes of therapeutic and prophylactic immunization for each vaccine take into account the severity of the bite and the nature of contact with animals (saliva, spitting, etc.), data on the animal, etc.

Vaccination is effective only at the beginning of the course no later than the 14th day from the moment of the bite. Vaccinations are carried out according to unconditional (with bites of clearly rabid animals, in the absence of information about the bitten animal) and conditional (with a bite by animals without signs of rabies and, if possible, observe it for 10 days) indications.

If a short incubation period is suspected (extensive lesions of soft tissues, localization of the bite close to the brain), active-passive protection of the victim is carried out: in addition to the vaccine, anti-rabies immunoglobulin is also administered. The duration of post-vaccination immunity is 1 year.

Rabies Prevention

• Fighting the source of infection (compliance with the rules for keeping cats and dogs, preventing vagrancy among them, preventive vaccination of pets against rabies, control of the population of wild animals);
• If bitten by a suspicious animal, help the victim immediately. It is necessary to wash the wound and the places soaked with the saliva of the animal with plenty of soap and water, treat the edges of the wound with iodine tincture, apply a sterile bandage, the edges of the wound are not excised or sutured during the first three days (except for life-threatening ones); immunization against rabies should be provided.

Rabies is an acute infectious disease caused by a virus that enters the human body when a sick animal bites or saliva comes into contact with the skin. Clinically characterized by severe damage to the nervous system. It is one of the most dangerous infectious diseases. Without specific treatment - the introduction of a rabies vaccine - the disease ends in death. The sooner a person seeks medical help after a bite, the less likely they are to get sick. Let's get acquainted with the causes, signs of rabies in humans, talk about the principles of its diagnosis and treatment, as well as how to avoid this dangerous disease.

Historical facts

Rabies existed on planet Earth even before our era, and to this day, mankind has not come up with a way to destroy the circulation of the pathogen in nature. The name of the disease comes from the word "demon". This is how the clinical symptoms of the disease were interpreted in ancient times, believing that a demon is infused in a person. There are some countries where rabies is not registered: Great Britain, Norway, Sweden, Japan, Finland, Spain, Portugal, New Zealand, Cyprus (mostly island states). Until July 6, 1886, all cases of the disease ended in 100% death. It was on this day that the specific anti-rabies vaccine (Rabies - rabies in Latin), created by the French scientist Louis Pasteur, was first used. Since then, the fight against the disease began to end in victory (recovery).

The reasons

Rabies is a viral infection caused by Neuroiyctes rabid from the Rhabdovirus family. The pathogen is destroyed by boiling for two minutes, inactivated by alkaline solutions, chloramine, 3-5% carbolic acid. For the virus, direct sunlight and drying are destructive. But freezing, exposure to antibiotics and phenols does not affect the virus.

In nature, the virus circulates among warm-blooded animals and birds. The source of infection is any (!) Animal with rabies. Most often, a person becomes infected from dogs, cats, wolves, foxes, bats, crows, and cattle. Usually such animals and birds behave inappropriately, attack people and other animals, biting them and thus infecting them. It is believed that a person with rabies, if he bites another, can also be a source of infection. The virus is transmitted with saliva: with a bite and even just contact with saliva on the skin and mucous membranes (due to the possible presence of microdamages in these places that are not visible to the eye).

The incubation period (the time from the moment the pathogen enters the body until the first symptoms appear) lasts an average of 10 days to 3-4 months. Isolated cases of the disease with an incubation period of about a year have been registered. The timing of the appearance of the first symptoms depends on many factors: the bite site (the most dangerous - in the head, genitals, hands), on the amount of virus that has entered the body, the state of the immune system. Even the type of animal in this case plays a role. Be aware that any animal bite is considered a potential rabies risk and medical attention should be sought immediately.

How does rabies develop?

The virus enters through damage to the skin and mucous membranes in the endings of the nerves. It penetrates the nerves and moves towards the brain, multiplying in parallel. The speed of movement of viral particles is 3 mm / h, which is why bites in the head, face and hands (very close to the central nervous system) are so dangerous. Penetrating into the brain, the virus destroys the cells of the cerebral cortex, cerebellum, subcortical formations, nuclei of cranial nerves, medulla oblongata. At the same time, the virus rushes back along the nerve trunks, now in a downward direction. Thus, the entire nervous system of a person is affected.

As a result of the accumulation of the virus in the brain cells, specific conglomerates are formed: Babes-Negri bodies. They are found in the brain after the autopsy of those who died of rabies.

Symptoms

In total, there are three stages of rabies, which differ from each other in different symptoms:

• the initial stage (the period of precursors, the prodromal period) - lasts 1-3 days;
• stage of excitement (high, hydrophobia) - lasts 1-4 days;
• the period of paralysis (the stage of "ominous calm") - lasts from 1 to 8 days according to various sources (very rarely 10-12 days).

initial stage

The patient develops painful and unpleasant sensations in the area of ​​​​the bite, even if by this time the wound has completely healed. If there was no bite as such, then such sensations appear at the site of the saliva of a sick animal. A person feels a burning sensation, pulling and aching pains towards the center (along the nerve trunks up to the brain). The bite site itches, has increased sensitivity, and may even swell and blush.

Body temperature rises to subfebrile numbers: 37-37.3°C. The state of health worsens, headaches, disturbance of sleep and appetite, general weakness can disturb. Along with these symptoms, mental disorders appear: causeless anxiety, fears, longing, indifference to everything that happens. The person closes in on himself. Sometimes there may be periods of irritation. If the bite was in the face area, then the patient may be disturbed by visual and olfactory hallucinations: extraneous odors are felt everywhere, objects or phenomena seem that are not really there. Characterized by nightmares.

Gradually, the pulse and breathing become more frequent, anxiety increases.

Excitation stage

It is characterized by increased sensitivity to all environmental influences: light, sounds, smells, touches. The fear of water is especially characteristic: hydrophobia. When you try to take a sip of water, there is a convulsive painful contraction of the muscles of the pharynx and respiratory muscles, up to vomiting. Then spasms come on even at the sound of running water or the sight of it. The excitability of the nervous system reaches such a limit that any external stimuli provoke convulsions. Patients begin to be afraid of light, noise, a breath of air, as all this provokes painful muscle contractions, painful for the patient.

The tone of the sympathetic nervous system increases. The pupils dilate sharply, the eyes seem to protrude forward (exophthalmos), the gaze is fixed at one point. The blood pressure rises, the heart rate increases, the pulse increases sharply. Breathing becomes frequent. There is profuse sweating, pronounced salivation (in this case, saliva contains the rabies virus, which means it is contagious).

Periodically there are attacks of pronounced psychomotor agitation, during which consciousness is disturbed, and the person does not control himself. Patients become aggressive, attack others, tear their clothes to shreds, beat their heads against walls and floors, scream in a voice that is not their own, spit, and may bite. During an attack, they do not leave hallucinations of a threatening nature. Cardiac and respiratory disorders increase, breathing and heartbeat can stop, then death occurs.

Between attacks, consciousness returns to the patient, the behavior becomes adequate. In the end, one of the attacks of excitement ends with the formation of paralysis, and the last stage of rabies sets in.

Stage of paralysis

Immobility of the limbs, tongue, eye muscles, muscles of the pharynx and larynx develops. The patient seems to calm down. Spasms stop, fear of water disappears. The patient no longer reacts violently to light and sounds.

Body temperature rises sharply to 40-42°C. Blood pressure drops and heart rate rises. Against the background of damage to the respiratory and cardiovascular centers, death occurs.

Occasionally, rabies proceeds atypically: there are no symptoms of hydrophobia and motor excitation, paralysis immediately forms. In such cases, rabies is not recognized, only Babesh-Negri bodies are found at autopsy, which confirms the diagnosis.

Diagnostic principles

Diagnosis is based on anamnesis data: animal bite or salivation of the skin. Then the specific signs of rabies play a role: rabies, hypersensitivity to irritants (sounds, light, drafts), profuse salivation, attacks of psychomotor agitation with convulsions (even in response to the slightest movement of air).

From laboratory methods, it is possible to note the detection of rabies virus antigens in prints from the surface of the cornea. In the blood test, leukocytosis is noted due to an increase in the content of lymphocytes. After the death of the patient, at an autopsy, Babesh-Negri bodies are found in the substance of the brain.

Principles of treatment

There are no statistically reliable treatments for rabies. If the patient already has initial signs, then the disease is incurable. It is possible to help the patient only during the incubation period, and the sooner the better. For this, a rabies vaccine is administered, but this measure is considered preventive.

When the patient has already developed signs of rabies, so-called symptomatic treatment is usually carried out to alleviate his condition. For this, a person is placed in a separate room, isolated from light, noise, draft (so as not to provoke convulsions). Of the medicines, narcotic substances, anticonvulsants, muscle relaxants are used. In the presence of gross respiratory disorders, the patient is connected to a ventilator. These manipulations prolong the life of the patient for several hours or even days, but the outcome is still unfavorable: the person dies. The introduction of anti-rabies immunoglobulin and vaccine, when the symptoms of rabies have already appeared, is not effective!

Since 2005, several cases of rabies recovery have been reported worldwide without the use of a rabies vaccine. In 2005 in the US, a 15-year-old girl survived after being put into an induced coma since the onset of rabies symptoms. While she was in a coma, she was treated with drugs that stimulate the immune system. Such treatment was based on the assumption that the human body simply does not have time to develop antibodies against the rabies virus, and if the nervous system is “turned off” for a while, then there is hope for a cure. A miracle happened - and the girl recovered. This treatment method was called the "Milwaukee Protocol." Later, this protocol was tried to apply to other cases of rabies: out of 24 attempts, only one was successful, the remaining 23 people died.

In 2008, a 15-year-old boy from Brazil was rescued. He was treated with the Milwaukee protocol, antivirals, sedatives, and anesthesia. In 2011, an 8-year-old child survived, in 2012 - 5 more people. In all cases, treatment was carried out according to the protocol. Scientists still do not agree on what exactly helped these patients avoid death. It is assumed that an unusually strong immune system and, possibly, a weakened form of the virus that caused the disease, played a major role.

In 2009, an antisocial woman in the United States recovered from symptoms of rabies, believed to have been caused by a bat bite. This episode prompted scientists to think that abortive forms of rabies can occur in humans, by analogy with animals. After all, it is known that from 1% to 8% of animals that were bitten by a known sick animal do not get rabies.

Prevention

Despite the described cases of recovery, today rabies is considered an incurable disease. There is only one way to prevent it: by timely vaccination.

After an animal bite, it is necessary to wash the wound as soon as possible using laundry soap, treat with 70-degree alcohol or 5% iodine solution (if possible) and seek medical help.

In a medical institution, local treatment of the wound is carried out, if necessary, sutures are applied. Then, specific prophylaxis is carried out by introducing an anti-rabies vaccine and / or an anti-rabies immunoglobulin.

The rabies vaccine is a laboratory-bred strain of the rabies virus. Its introduction stimulates the production of antibodies. The vaccine cannot cause rabies. The ampoule with the vaccine is opened, the contents are mixed with 1 ml of water for injection and injected intramuscularly into the shoulder area (for children under 5 years old - into the thigh). Within 30 minutes after the injection, the patient is placed under medical observation, since an allergic reaction is possible. The vaccination course is as follows: the first injection is carried out on the day of treatment, then on the 3rd, 7th, 14th, 30th and 90th day. During the entire period of vaccination, as well as 6 months after it (i.e. only 9 months), the patient is categorically contraindicated in taking alcohol. Overheating, hypothermia and overwork should be avoided. The course of treatment with a vaccine is prescribed regardless of the period when the person was bitten. Even if seeking medical attention occurs several months after the bite, a full course of vaccination is still carried out.

In some cases, along with the vaccine, anti-rabies immunoglobulin is also used (for bites of the head, neck, face, hands, genitals, for multiple bites or very deep single bites, for salivation of mucous membranes, for any damage caused by wild predatory animals, bats and rodents). Rabies immunoglobulin is used at the rate of 40 IU/kg (equine) or 20 IU/kg (human). You should try to inject the entire dose into the tissues around the bite site. If this is not possible, then the remainder of the drug is injected intramuscularly into the shoulder or thigh. Immunoglobulin in the latter case must be administered in places other than the introduction of the vaccine. If more than 3 days have passed since contact with the animal, then anti-rabies immunoglobulin is not used.

When is the vaccine used?

• with single superficial bites, scratches, abrasions inflicted by wild and domestic animals;
• with multiple bites or a single deep bite caused by wild and domestic animals;
• salivation of intact skin or mucous membranes by wild and domestic animals.

Moreover, if it is possible to observe the animal that caused the damage, and within 10 days it remains healthy, then only the first three injections of the rabies vaccine are given. If it is impossible to observe the animal for any reason, the vaccination course is carried out in full.

Such a scheme for the prevention of rabies almost 100% saves a person from the disease.

The use of the vaccine may have side effects. Slight swelling, redness and itching may occur locally. Nearby lymph nodes may be enlarged. Of the common symptoms, headache, general weakness, and a slight increase in body temperature should be noted. To eliminate these symptoms, antipyretic and antiallergic drugs are used.

People who are forced by the nature of their activities to encounter the rabies virus more often are shown mandatory preventive vaccination against rabies. This category includes veterinarians, hunters, foresters, slaughterhouse workers, and persons performing work on catching stray animals. This contingent is given the vaccine 1 ml in the first month 3 times (1, 7, 30 days), then once a year, and then once every three years.

General methods of rabies prevention include vaccinating pets against rabies, trapping stray dogs and cats, and regulating the density of wild animals (in Russia, the latter concerns foxes). Unvaccinated dogs should not be allowed to hunt wild animals.

Rabies is a deadly disease caused by the bite of a sick animal. To date, there is only one sure way to avoid the disease: in case of a bite, immediately seek medical help and get vaccinated with an anti-rabies vaccine.

Myth No. 1. Only "crazy" animals are dangerous.

Not true. Any animal can be dangerous, even a pet. That is why if you are bitten or scratched by an animal, you should definitely go to the doctor.

The fact is that it is not always possible to determine by external signs whether an animal is infected - the causative agent of rabies can be in the saliva of an animal 10 days before the first visible signs of the disease appear.

Sanitary doctors warn that the animal can behave quite "normally" - but already be contagious.

Remember that rabies is an incurable disease, from which more than 50 thousand people die every year in the world, and only timely vaccination can save you from it.

Myth number 2. The attacked beast must be destroyed without fail

Not true. In no case should an animal that has bitten a person be killed, it is rather necessary to leave it alive, because it is imperative to find out if the animal is ill with rabies.

Walking with the owner, then you must definitely take his phone. The official quarantine, during which the behavior of the animal is monitored, is 10 days. If the animal is healthy, it will be possible to stop the course of injections.

If a familiar pet attacked, then first you need to lock it up somewhere and immediately contact the nearest anti-rabies point (the address can be clarified by calling 03). They will provide first aid, make the necessary injections and contact the veterinarians, who will decide what to do with the animal.

If a wild animal attacked you, then in this case it would be more correct to kill him. However, the body still needs to be taken to the veterinarians, they can examine it. Remember that if rabies is not found, this does not mean that it was not there - the causative agent of rabies can be in the saliva of a sick animal 10 days before the first signs of the disease appear.

Myth number 3. Vaccination is 30 injections in the stomach

Not true. Today, vaccination is relatively painless for the victim - these are 5-6 injections in the shoulder.

If you are bitten by an animal, treat the wound immediately. Then it is already necessary to seek medical help, doctors will introduce an anti-rabies vaccine. The first injection is given on the day of the bite, then on days 3, 7, 14, 30 and 90. In especially dangerous cases, a single injection of anti-rabies immunoglobulin is done on the day of the bite.

About six months after vaccination, you can not overwork, touch alcohol, swim in the pool, go to the gym and generally play sports seriously.

Myth #4 Rabies is curable

On the one hand, rabies can be avoided, but only if a full course of vaccination is done on time - in this case, the disease is cured by almost 100%.

On the other hand, rabies is 100% fatal unless vaccinated. The incubation period of rabies lasts from 10 to 90 days, in rare cases - up to 1 year.

If a person becomes ill with rabies, then a scar swells at the site of the bite, itching and pain appear. Then the temperature rises, appetite disappears, the sick person feels a general malaise. Patients become aggressive, violent, hallucinations, delirium, a feeling of fear appear, signs of hydrophobia and aerophobia may appear. When the “period of paralysis” comes, the person dies.

Only a few cases of successful treatment of rabies after the development of the first symptoms are known in the world.

In 2005, there were reports that a 15-year-old girl from the United States, Gina Gies, was able to recover after being infected with the rabies virus without being vaccinated. The girl was put into an artificial coma, after which she was given drugs that stimulate the body's immune activity. The method was based on the assumption that the rabies virus does not cause irreversible damage to the central nervous system, but only causes a temporary breakdown of its functions. That is, if you temporarily “turn off” most of the functions of the brain, then the body will be able to produce enough antibodies to defeat the virus. After a week in a coma and several months of treatment, Gina Gies was discharged from the hospital with no signs of illness.

However, later this method led to success in only 1 case out of 24.

Another confirmed case where a person managed to recover from rabies without the use of a vaccine is the fact that a 15-year-old teenager recovered in Brazil. The boy was bitten by a bat when he developed nervous system symptoms consistent with rabies and was admitted to the Oswaldo Cruz University Hospital in the state capital of Pernambuco, Brazil. Doctors used a combination of antiviral drugs, sedatives and injectable anesthetics to treat the boy. A month after the start of treatment, there was no virus in the boy's blood and the child recovered.

The conversation will focus on what rabies is, how it is transmitted and what are the symptoms of this disease. Methods of treatment and prevention will be presented. It also addresses the important question of whether rabies is transmitted from person to another person.

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Peculiarities

Answering the question what is rabies, we can answer that it is an acute infectious disease that occurs after a person is bitten by an infected animal.

It proceeds, as a rule, hard, affecting the nervous system. In the vast majority of cases, the outcome is fatal.

According to statistics, about 99% of infections occur due to dog attacks. Both domestic and wild animals can get sick.

Mankind has known this problem since ancient times. At different stages of history, people developed numerous recommendations for the prevention and treatment of the disease, but this did not bring results.

Even modern medicine for this scourge cannot always offer effective treatment options. However, human rabies is a preventable viral disease that doctors fight with vaccines.

Prevention and treatment

This deadly disease requires preventive measures. Even a slight bite of a person by an animal can cause infection. This is an important point in understanding how rabies is transmitted. In any case, urgent medical attention is needed. The next course of action will be determined by the doctor. Often, emergency treatment is used by administering a vaccine with an active or passive effect. Rabies Prevention people also have an important process that needs regular attention.

It is necessary to start this procedure as soon as possible after the bite and continue for at least fifteen minutes.

It should be remembered that infection can occur not only through a bite and scratch, but also through saliva.

Persons who, for various reasons, may have regular or direct contact with sick animals, it is recommended to enter mandatory preventive vaccine.

Vaccination is carried out when:

• a person is bitten by wild rodents;
• saliva got on the skin;
• has been bitten or scratched by an animal suspected of carrying the virus;
• a bite is applied through a thin tissue layer;
• after being injured by an object contaminated with the saliva of a known infected animal.

Vaccination not carried out, when:

• the wound was inflicted by a bird;
• there was a bite on a dense layer of tissue, without damage to the skin cover;
• dairy or meat products from an infected animal were consumed without heat treatment;
• there was a bite by a rodent of a pet;
• a bite was received from a wild rodent, in places where the disease had not been seen for two years;
• there was contact with a rabies-infected person without damage to the skin or contact with the mucous membranes of infected saliva.

Methods and methods of treatment

With the help of certain manipulations, you can prolong life, but a fatal outcome will be inevitable.

Treatment for rabies in a person begins on the day that he seeks professional help.

In most situations, a modern version of the vaccine is used, which can significantly reduce the duration of the treatment course, as well as reduce the amount of the administered dose.

It should be noted that contrary to many misconceptions, the vaccine is not injected into the buttock. For children, it is injected into the outer part of the thigh, for adolescents and adults directly into deltoid muscle. The standard dosage is 1 ml, and the effect of its action can reach up to 98%. An important point is the observance of the condition: the first injection must be made no later than two weeks after contact with the animal.

Important! Any violations in the vaccination regimen can lead to sad consequences.

From the moment of the introduction of the first vaccination, after fourteen days, antibodies will begin to appear, and their maximum peak concentration will accumulate in a month. As the course is completed, a person develops immunity, which will protect the body for the next year.

For those who are undergoing treatment, within six months after completion of the course, in order to avoid a deterioration in immunity, it is forbidden to do the following:

• drink alcohol;
• is in a sauna or bath;
• supercool;
• undergo significant physical fatigue.

In some cases, therapy with the use of immunoglobulin is allowed. Often this course is carried out in combination with the introduction of a vaccine.

Symptoms

The incubation period for rabies can be thirty to ninety days. In some cases, it is reduced to ten days, and in isolated situations it can increase to a year. The duration of the period depends most often on the location of the wound, which affects the speed of the virus reaching the brain.

Attention! Symptoms of rabies in humans after a dog bite develop in three stages.

The first signs of rabies in humans appear at the initial stage within 1-3 days.

At this moment, the patient begins to suffer from the resulting wound. Even healed, it begins to hurt locally, having a pulling character.

In the case of a bite in the face, the patient may be subject to hallucinations and attacks of unreasonable fear. May lose appetite apathy and irritability.

The second stage lasts a couple of days and is called the stage of excitation. An increase in excitability begins, in particular, the nervous-reflex system. The next characteristic symptom is the development of hydrophobia. This means that when you try to swallow a liquid, the patient may experience spasms of the muscles of the respiratory and swallowing tract.

Breathing becomes more convulsive and rare and facial spasms may occur. Mental disorders develop with increased excitability and violence. The patient periodically undergoes attacks that are unsafe for his health, as well as for others.

The final third stage is called the stage of paralysis. Lasts no more than a day, accompanied by a deterioration in motor function. In this case, the patient visually looks normal and calm. At this time, the internal organs and various muscle groups are paralyzed. The patient's body is subjected to a strong jump in temperature, an increase in heart rate and a decrease in blood pressure. Then death occurs as a result of paralysis of the respiratory center and heart muscle.

Diagnosis and analysis for rabies are carried out in a medical facility. Sometimes, after an incident, in a state of panic, people go to the hospital in order to begin a course of treatment for rabies.

In order to correctly and timely diagnose rabies, it is necessary to carry out the following measures:

• accurately localize the site of the wound;
• check the patient for characteristic symptoms;
• conduct a laboratory study of the shell of the eyes.

If all the measures were carried out promptly and in a timely manner, you can proceed to the course of treatment or refute the diagnosis if the infection did not occur.

When is infection possible?

Both wild or feral animals and pets can be dangerous. Potential carriers, one way or another, belong to the group of warm-blooded mammals.

Pets often become infected during fights or after being attacked by other animals from the street.

Thus, among the pets most at risk are dogs and cats. If the cat is completely domestic, does not leave the house and does not contact other animals, then there is nothing to fear. But, if the cat walks or walks on its own, then upon returning home it should be examined for scratches, bites and wounds.

Important! Rabies is transmitted from a cat to a person after a bite or scratch, as well as from saliva.

Sometimes even an infected animal can be a carrier of the so-called "sleeping" virus and infection in the human body will not occur.

Some wonder if the disease is transmitted person to person. As a rule, this cannot happen. There may be isolated cases when contact is made with a known patient with saliva entering the body of another person.

However, even in this case, the probability of infection is extremely small. The situation may be different when an organ is transplanted from a sick person to another healthy person. However, given the statistics of the disease and a whole range of preliminary examinations, the likelihood of such an incident is also practically excluded.