Strange Diseases: Rabies (Ep. 1)

Howdy fellow Steemians and welcome to the first episode of Strange Diseases, where we replace our fear goggles with investigation spectacles in our exploration of bizarre diseases and their associated disorders. For the pilot episode of Strange Diseases I decided to cover rabies because, holy crap, this disease is strange. If you enjoy this post, I highly recommend listening to the Radiolab podcast on rabies on your next roadtrip.

So, What Exactly is Rabies?

According to the [Center For Disease Control and Prevention](https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/) rabies is "a preventable viral disease of mammals most often transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal." Here's a picture (I assume an artist rendition) of two rabies viruses. Feel free to print it off and gift it to any of your Satan-worshipping friends for their birthday.

The rabies virus

This virus is a clever little bastard. After it enters your body at the site of transmission, it will find the closest nerve cells and latch on. At this point, Prick McJerkface rides up your nervous system all the way to your brain. The virus moves a few centimeters a day so, depending on the location of the bite, this process could take a few days to a few weeks. Once in the brain, it starts replicating like mad and symptoms begin appears which include (source 1, source 2):

Flu-like symptoms such as weakness, discomfort, fever, and headache
itching or prickling at the site of bite
cerebral dysfunction
anxiety
confusion
agitation
delirium
hallucinations
insomnia
hydrophobia (yes, infected people literally cannot drink water)
excessive salivation

70% of infected patients experience these symptoms which is referred to as furious rabies. The other 30%? They develop paralytic rabies which means they slowly become paralyzed and die. Don't worry though, the furious rabies folks don't get off the hook that easily. They, too, will definitely die. Everyone dies. In fact, if there's one thing you can count on in life, it's that if the rabies virus ever enters your brain and you start exhibiting symptoms, you. will. die.

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Silly death

Okay, okay, fine I'm being (ONLY SLIGHTLY) dramatic here. However, since the 100% fatality rate is part of what fascinated me so much about this disease in the first place, I wanted to be as dramatic as possible. But hear me out. Up until 2004, the fatality rate for unvaccinated patients was in fact 100%. That is insane! But now, let's talk about the miracle that happened in 2004.

The Milwaukee Protocol

In September of 2004, Jeanna Giese, a high school student from Wisconson was bitten by a bat. Her family treated the bite with hydrogen peroxide and did not seek further medical attention. A month later, she began experiencing rabies-like symptoms. Now, what did we just learn about symptomatic rabies and death? Let's just say Jeanna was in a pickle.

Her doctor, Dr. Rodney Willoughby, Jr., after diagnosing Jeanna with the rare form of certain death, decided to do something drastic. You see, it was hypothesized that rabies doesn't actually damage the brain but rather that patient death is caused by temporary brain dysfunction. Dr. Willoughby and his team decided to test a corollary hypothesis that, given enough time, the human immune system can defeat rabies. So, they decided to put Jeanna into an induced coma. Long story short, it worked! Jeana was brought out of the coma after 6 days and declared virus-free about a month later, becoming the first person to survive symptomatic rabies in the history of mankind. This method of treating rabies is now called the Milwaukee protocol and has been effective in treating 4 other patients (out of 36 total- not great but certainly better than previous treatment methods).

For information about Jeanna's recovery, I again refer you to the Rabiolab podcast. Also, here's a local news story that talks about her wedding day and provides some footage of her difficult recovery.

Prevention

Remember the CDC calls rabies a "preventable viral disease". How exaclty can you prevent symptomatic rabies after being bitten by a rabid animal? ~~pray and wait~~

Lucky for us, a rabies vaccine was invented over a century ago! So, if you or someone you know gets bitten by an animal you suspect has rabies, clean the wound thoroughly and immediately see a doctor. She or he will determine whether to administer a series of rabies vaccines to help your body prepare for battle. By the time it gets to your brain, your immune system will be a fortified fortress of fortitude and the stupid rabies viruses will have no option but to hopelessly admit defeat. +1 for science.

Quick Statistics

Year vaccine was invented	1885
Estimated number of worldwide deaths per year	17,500
How long you should wash a bite wound to help prevent transmission	10 - 15 minutes
Rabies cases in U.S. since 1990	55
Percentage of worldwide rabies deaths that occur in Africa and Asia	95%

Image Sources

Virus Image
Grim Reaper Image
Vaccination Image

Thank you for joining me today on Strange Diseases. If you liked this post and want future episodes to show up in your feed, please follow me. Also, is there a disease you want me to cover in future episodes? Please comment below with any suggestions!

Finally, please check out my introduction post if you haven't already!
https://steemit.com/introduceyourself/@travissanders/i-hereby-declare-myself-a-steemian

Be good y'all.