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99% fatal, yet 100% preventable
Once symptoms appear, 99% of victims die. Yet rabies is 100% preventable through vaccination.
Rabies 101
A zoonotic disease that is always fatal once symptoms appear — yet entirely preventable. Learn how it spreads, its signs, and how to prevent it.
Rabies is caused by a group of viruses that attack the central nervous system. It is often called “mad dog disease” because more than 95% of animals that transmit it are dogs. Rabies spreads through the bite of an infected animal and is highly lethal.
Rabies spreads through virus-laden saliva entering via a bite, a lick on an open wound, or through mucous membranes such as the eyes and mouth. The virus attacks the central nervous system and causes inflammation of the brain. Once symptoms appear, the disease is almost always fatal — in both animals and humans.
Infected animals show behavioral changes: becoming aggressive and biting without provocation (furious rabies), or becoming quiet and paralyzed (dumb rabies). Nocturnal animals may appear during the day, and excessive drooling or foaming at the mouth can occur. The only way to confirm rabies is a laboratory test.
Human infection usually results from a bite, or a fresh wound contaminated by an infected animal’s saliva. Symptoms typically appear weeks or months after contact. Once symptoms appear, the victim usually cannot be saved.
Immediately wash the bite wound with soap and running water for 15 minutes. Seek medical care as soon as possible. A full course of anti-rabies vaccine (VAR) is given based on the test results of the suspected animal.
10 Rabies Facts
Once symptoms appear, 99% of victims die. Yet rabies is 100% preventable through vaccination.
Symptoms in humans include pain and itching at the bite site, fever, fear of water (hydrophobia), sensitivity to sound, light, and wind, irritability, and hyperactivity.
Rabies causes one death every 10 minutes — more than 59,000 people die from it each year.
Nearly all human rabies cases are transmitted by dog bites. The rest come from other animals and saliva contact with open wounds or mucous membranes.
Nearly half of human rabies cases occur in children — around 100 children die from rabies every day.
The primary strategy to eradicate rabies is mass vaccination of at least 70% of the dog population, carried out simultaneously and thoroughly down to the village level.
Wash bite wounds with running water and soap for 15 minutes, apply antiseptic if available, then go immediately to a clinic, hospital, or doctor for further treatment.
Feed your dog daily, provide proper shelter, never let it roam free, keep it healthy with veterinary care, and vaccinate against rabies every year.
Nearly 85% of the world is at risk of dog-mediated rabies, and 95% of rabies deaths occur in African and Asian countries.
Only 8 provinces are rabies-free: Riau Islands, Bangka-Belitung, Jakarta, Central Java, Yogyakarta, East Java, Papua, and West Papua.
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