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Abstract
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Rabies is a preventable viral disease of mammals, caused by a neurotropic virus, Rabies virus. It is usually transmitted through the bite of an infected animal. Rabies virus is a bullet-shaped, single-stranded, negative-sense, non-segmented, enveloped RNA virus, that belongs to Lyssavirus, a member of the Rhabdoviridae family, Mononegavirales order (CDC, https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/about.html).
Rabies spreads to humans and among animals through bites and scratches of infected animals. Domestic dogs are the predominant source of rabies virus in developing countries, while wild animals are the primary carriers of rabies in developed countries. Nearly 99% of human rabies cases are caused by dog bites [1]. Reduced awareness, hyperactivity, hallucinations, hydrophobia, paralysis, coma, and sudden and uncontrollable death are some of the clinical signs of rabies.
Every year, rabies, one of the fatal viral diseases in the world, causes the deaths of about 60,000 people and over 3.7 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) lost. The incidence of rabies is most common in Asia and Africa; therefore, it can be said that it is a neglected tropical disease. A common but underreported issue in poor countries is dog bites. Nearly 80% of reported cases of rabies occur in rural areas of each country, and more than 40% of rabies fatalities involve children under the age of 15 years (WHO, https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241513838). The most disadvantaged and marginalized groups bear this disease's most remarkable economic burden globally. People continue to die from rabies due to their low disease awareness, poverty, the disease's continuous transmission among dogs, and their lack of access to primary medical care like post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP)...
Language: en |