What is rabies and how do you get it?

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Rabies is a virus that attacks the central nervous system, and the CDC is unflinching about the stakes: it is fatal once symptoms appear, but preventable if you get medical care before they start. How you get it: through bites or scratches from an infected animal, when virus-laden saliva enters the wound. In the United States, more than 90% of reported rabies cases in animals occur in wildlife, with bats, skunks, raccoons, and foxes the frequent carriers; in many other countries, unvaccinated dogs are the main source. The timeline is what makes it survivable: the virus incubates for weeks to months before symptoms, and post-exposure prophylaxis, wound care plus immune globulin and a series of four or five vaccine doses given as soon as possible after exposure, is nearly 100% effective. Around 100,000 Americans get these shots each year. Early symptoms are deceptively mild: flu-like illness, plus discomfort or itching at the bite site, before progressing to confusion, agitation, and the famous fear of water. The rule of action: any bite or scratch from a bat, skunk, raccoon, fox, or stray or unvaccinated animal, or any animal bite in a country where rabies is common, means wash the wound and get medical care the same day. Do not wait for symptoms; waiting is how rabies kills.

What is rabies and how do you get it?

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