Rabies street virus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Rabies street virus - Essay Example This is a viral malady usually characterized by varied and unusual aggressive behaviors in warm-blooded animals (Jackson, 2013, pp 5). Its transmission occurs from one species to another, for instance, infected dogs to human beings through a simple bite (Campbell, 2012). In human beings, rabies turns out to be a dangerous contagion if there are no administrations of necessary medications prior to the commencement of various symptoms that may result to death of the ailing person (Acton, 2012). Mainly, in human beings this malady invades and damages central nervous system ultimately leading to death. The disease finds its way to the brain through the tangential nerve ways (Jackson, 2013, pp 45). In humans, the incubation period of the disease mainly takes few months though time is entirely determined by distance navigated by the viral agent to central nervous system (Jackson, 2009). According to the studies so far contacted, once rabies virus ultimately reaches the central nervous syst em and symptoms begin to reveal themselves, the infection is generally difficult to treat and eventually leads to death with very few days (Jackson, 2009). However, since the discovery of the disease, doctors have frequently recorded a survival rate of only 8% of all reported cases after biting incidence (Acton, 2012).. Transmission All warm-blooded entities can acquire this contagion via viral agent, which exhibits signs of the disease and spreads to other people via biting (Campbell, 2012). Studies cite monkeys, cats, bats, raccoons, cattle and dogs pose greater risks of infection to numerous unsuspecting humans (Wilde, 2010). In most cases, this disease’s agent resides in nerves and saliva of the host, hence making the host being a potential reservoir of the complication once the animal bites human beings. This explains unusual anxiety and aggressive behavior portrayed by a rabid animal since they often attack without provocation to facilitate the contagion’s transm ission to other organisms (Acton, 2012). However, transmission of human-to-human is very rare though there are few cases so far recorded during transplant surgery of various body tissues (Kumar, 2008, pp3). After infection through biting by the host, the virus enters victim’s body where it invades peripheral nervous system parts before finding its way to the central nervous system (Ainsworth, 2009). This prompts the act of identifying the malady in the infected person’s body turning to be big challenge because symptoms professed are often confused with those of other diseases (Wilde, 2010). On reaching the brain, the agent causes encephalitis marking the onset of varied severe signs (Wilde, 2010). In this stage, medical procedures may prove to be ineffective due to advanced state of the ailing person prompting one to be at risk of dying (Wilde, 2010). Symptoms It takes an average of 2 to 12 weeks for the first flu like symptoms to appear after infection (Kumar, 2008, p p 22). Additionally, the incubation period takes varied periods depending on the wound’s severity as well as the amount of complication causing agents that has entered the body via biting ((Kumar, 2008). In early stages of rabies development, the disease usually exhibits itself through varied symptoms in human beings (Dessain, 2008, pp10). For instance, one may start experiencing recurrent headaches, fever and depression in every stage (Eden, 2009). As the disease progresses, a person experiences severe muscle pains, aggressive body movements, sudden and unusual excitement as well as being hydrophobia. Other symptoms include increased saliva production, which suggests drinking anything may cause serve and painful