Description of Rabies

Cats, dogs and cattle account for nearly 90 percent of rabies cases in domestic animals, with horses, mules, sheep, goats and ferrets making up the remaining cases.

Among wild animals, the disease is most often reported in skunks and raccoons.

Other wild species in this country in which rabies is commonly found include bats, foxes, and rodents.

The rabies virus, present in the saliva of an infected animal, is usually spread by a bite or scratch that punctures the victim's skin.

The virus has a strong affinity for cells of the nervous system. It enters nerve cells at the site of the wound, travels to the brain, and then follows other nerve pathways to muscles and organs that are especially affected by rabies.

There are at least two other ways in which humans have been known to have contracted rabies, both extremely rare. Two people were exposed by breathing the air in caves inhabited by rabid bats. And six people contracted rabies following implants of corneas from donors who had undiagnosed rabies.

The virus concentrates in the salivary glands, which explains why it is usually spread by bites. It also invades and damages the muscles involved in drinking and swallowing.

Most human victims, and apparently lower animals as well, suffer excruciating pain on swallowing liquids. Though they suffer from thirst, animal and human rabies victims can be terrified by the sight of water, hence another name for the disease, hydrophobia.