Rabies

Rabies is a viral disease of mammals that attacks the central nervous system. It is usually fatal after symptoms begin and is commonly transmitted through bites from infected animals.

Rabies virus: A bullet-shaped RNA virus in the genus Lyssavirus that causes rabies. Its movement from an infected bite site toward the nervous system drives the disease.
Rabies vaccine: A vaccine that induces immunity against rabies virus before or after an exposure. Vaccination is the central preventive measure for people at occupational risk and exposed patients.
Louis Pasteur: A French chemist and microbiologist who developed the first successful rabies vaccine. His 1885 treatment of Joseph Meister established post-exposure vaccination as a practical intervention.
Canine rabies: Rabies circulating among domestic dogs, the source of most human rabies deaths worldwide. Dog-mediated transmission remains the dominant preventable route of human infection globally.
Lyssavirus: A genus of viruses that includes rabies virus and other viruses capable of causing rabies-like disease. Rabies virus belongs to this broader group of neurotropic viruses.
Post-exposure prophylaxis: Medical treatment given after a possible infection exposure to prevent disease. Prompt wound care, vaccine, and sometimes immunoglobulin can prevent rabies before symptoms develop.
Joseph Meister: A French boy who received Louis Pasteur’s rabies vaccine after being bitten by a rabid dog in 1885. His survival became the first celebrated human case of Pasteur’s post-exposure treatment.
Bat rabies: Rabies virus infections associated with bats, which maintain distinct viral variants. Bat exposures can transmit rabies even when no obvious bite is noticed.
Retrograde axonal transport: The movement of materials along a neuron’s axon toward its cell body. Rabies virus can use this route to travel from peripheral nerves toward the central nervous system.
Rabies immunoglobulin: Antibodies against rabies virus administered to provide immediate, temporary immunity. For eligible unvaccinated patients, it supplies antibodies at the exposure site alongside vaccination.

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