Rabies is a viral disease transmitted from mammals to humans that causes an acute encephalitis. There are two clinical manifestations of rabies: furious and paralytic. Furious rabies is the most common form of human rabies. Once symptoms of the disease develop, either form is almost always fatal. Rabies is transmitted through mucosal exposure to infected animals, such as rabid dogs, bats and sometimes other species. As dog bites cause almost all human cases, we can prevent rabies deaths by increasing awareness, vaccinating dogs to prevent the disease at its source and administering life-saving post-exposure prophylaxis to people after they have been bitten.
