Rabies is estimated to cause 59 000 human deaths annually in over 150 countries, with 95% of cases occurring in Africa and Asia.

Rabies is a preventable viral disease most often transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal. The rabies virus infects the central nervous system of mammals, ultimately causing disease in the brain and death.

Rabies is an ancient disease and has most likely been around before mankind was even upright.

Louis Pasteur and Émile Roux are responsible for the rabies vaccine. Ultimate chads! They've saved so many lives!!!! Pasteur also developed the earliest vaccines again fowl cholera and anthrax.

Joseph Meister, who was only nine years old at the time, was the very first person to be inoculated against rabies, 2 days after being exposed to the virus from a bite from a rabid dog. He lived to be 64, his cause of death being suicide.

Edgar Allen Poe likely died from rabies.

The incubation period is usually around 2-3 months, but may vary from 1 week up to a year!!!

First symptoms of rabies are often reported to be similar to the flu; weakness, fever, headaches, itching or prickling sensation at the site of the bite. These symptoms might last for several days.

After this, anxiety, confusion, agitation, irritation and cerebral dysfunction set in.

Then hydrophobia, swelling of the brain, frothing at the mouth, sensitivity to light and sometimes even wind, and ultimately, death.

Spasms of the muscles in the throat and larynx occur because rabies affects the area in the brain that controls swallowing, speaking and breathing. The spasm can be excruciatingly painful. A slight breeze or an attempt to drink water can trigger the spasms. Thus, people with rabies cannot drink.

The rabies virus then spreads to peripheral non-nervous tissues, including the salivary glands, adrenal glands, gastrointestinal tract, pancreas and heart. The salivary glands are an important site of viral replication and portals of exit for the rabies virus into the saliva.

So, rabies victims are often depicted as foaming at the mouth, like the dog friend I have illustrated. This happens because of painful muscle spasms in the throat that prevent patients from swallowing saliva, and patients start producing even more saliva than normal, thus making them salivate. Rabies attacks the salivary glands and the Very scary! Additionally, victims usually develop something called hydrophobia, an intense fear of water.

However! It's important to remember that a rabid animal might not 'look' rabid. Animals with this disease might appear normal, with no signs of aggression or sickness. This is why it's never a good idea to approach a wild animal to feed or pet them even if there's a relatively low risk of rabies, you never know! If you do get bit, immediately contact the appropriate authorities, cegwerherhs. For the love of GOD, be careful!!!!!

BUT, and this is a big but... blehdiblehdiblehblebleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh