Infection causes tens of thousands of deaths every year, mainly in Asia and Africa.
Rabies is a viral disease which occurs in more than 150 countries and territories. Dogs are the main source of human rabies deaths, contributing up to 99% of all rabies transmissions to humans.
Globally rabies causes an estimated cost of US$ 8.6 billion per year.
Prevention is possible by vaccination, including post-exposure immunisation to be given as soon after the exposure as possible.
After an incubation period of 3–8 weeks, non-specific symptoms appear, such as headache, fever and numbness of the skin around the site of the bite. A phase of seizures and eventually coma follows, which almost invariably leads to the patient’s death.
Infection causes tens of thousands of deaths every year, mainly in Asia and Africa.
Adults (1)
Paediatric + Adults + Older Adults (1)
Sources:
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/rabies
https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/rabies
[Accessed: November 2022]