- Causes and symptoms,
- Prevention,
- Treatment and required good practices,
Rabies is a serious disease caused by the rabies virus. The virus is usually transmitted to humans through the bite of an infected animal, like dogs, bats and even other domestic animals when bitten by infected animals.


Rabies can inflict various symptoms and if left untreated, rabies kill within the first week of illness. Given the high mortality rate when rabies symptoms appear (about 99%); we have decided in this issue to tell you how you can avoid rabies, the manner in which experts prevent it and how it is transmitted.
This is because despite the presence of veterinary clinics everywhere, few people, especially in the rural areas care to vaccinate their dogs or even turn up for post exposure treatment on their own until they reach the symptomatic stage when the virus have moved right to the brain through the nervous system.
The most recent case is that of the two unfortunate Cameroonians in the Nkambe Health district that lost their lives after having been bitten a long time ago by a rabid dog. The local authorities could only take measures after deaths, but if the victims had turned up to veterinary clinics as is required or for post exposure treatment, such fatal ends could have been avoided.

These are not the only cases that have traumatizing results, if the administration in Fundong Sub Division in Boyo did not intervene faster in1986 on time to kill rabid dogs and other pets after rabid dogs went mad biting whatever they met, it would have been horrible. At this time post exposure treatment could not be got in the North West and victims were transferred to where they could get treatment thanks to the administration and well wishers.
Unfortunately up to today, when an unvaccinated cat or dog bites some people they take it for granted without knowing whether the animal is infected or not. This is dangerous because you cannot survive if rabies has penetrated your system.

To worsen things saliva from an infected animal can also infect humans so it is not advisable to keep unvaccinated pets because they are just a source of danger. Produced by Bangsi Daniel Song with information from the internet by Robbins & Cotran (Pathologic Basis of Disease), CDC Bot, Greg S, Flickety, Glutted, Jenn Ostrowski, A B Cotran, Ramzi S, Kumar, Robbins, Stanley L, Abbas, Abul K ….

Rabies transmission
Any warm-blooded animal, including humans, may become infected with the rabies virus and develop symptoms.
The virus has even been adapted to grow in cells of poikilothermic vertebrates though natural transmission has only been documented among mammals. Most animals can be infected by the virus and can transmit the disease to humans.
Infected bats, monkeys, raccoons, foxes, skunks, cattle, wolves, coyotes, dogs, mongoose (normally yellow mongoose) or cats present the greatest risk to humans. Rabies may also spread through exposure to infected domestic farm animals, groundhogs, weasels, bears and other wild carnivores. Rodents (mice, squirrels etc) are seldom infected.

The virus is usually present in the nerves and saliva of a symptomatic rabid animal. The route of infection is usually, but not necessarily, by a bite. In many cases the infected animal is exceptionally aggressive, may attack without provocation, and exhibits otherwise uncharacteristic behavior.
After a typical human infection by bite, the virus enters the peripheral nervous system. It then travels along the nerves towards the central nervous system. During this phase, the virus cannot be easily detected within the host, and vaccination may still confer cell-mediated immunity to prevent symptomatic rabies.

When the virus reaches the brain, it rapidly causes encephalitis. This is the beginning of the symptoms. Once the patient becomes symptomatic, treatment is almost never effective and mortality is over 99%. Rabies may also inflame the spinal cord producing transverse myelitis.

Rabies in dogs and other animals
Dogs are very common in most rural homes in Cameroon and other West African countries. This explains why most cases of rabies in Cameroon have been transmitted by dogs, thus unvaccinated dogs are regarded by both authorities and informed persons as potential rabies carriers

It is therefore important to know how a rabies infected dog behaves. Three stages of rabies are recognized in dogs and other animals. The first stage is a 1-3 day period characterized by behavioral changes known as the prodromal stage.
The second stage is the excitative stage, which lasts three to four days. It is this stage that is often known as furious rabies for the tendency of the affected dog to be hyper reactive to external stimuli and bite at anything near.
The third stage is the paralytic stage and is caused by damage to motor neurons. In coordination comes in because of rear limb paralysis and drooling. There is also the difficulty to swallow because of paralysis of facial and throat muscles. Death is usually caused by respiratory arrest.