Rabies Kills People
Rabies kills people and most of them are children, under the age of 15.
Between now and this time tomorrow, at least 150 people will die after the rabies virus has caused inflammation of their brain and spinal cord and eventually led to cardio-respitory failure.
That's 55 000 people every year – and those are just the deaths we know about. Many rabies deaths go unreported, the actual death rate is much higher.
This map shows the territory size by proportion of (reported) human rabies deaths.
Why is rabies unreported?
Once the symptoms of rabies are evident, death is inevitable. Hospitals turn sufferers away because there is nothing that can be done and the cause of death is not recorded.
Often rabies is misdiagnosed. In a study in Malawi, it was found that 10.5% of deaths attributed to cerebral malaria were actually due to rabies.
Mallewa M, et al. Rabies encephalitis in malaria-endemic area, Malawi, Africa. EmergInfect Dis. Jan 2007 Jan. Available from http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/13/1/136.htm
The fight against rabies: a victim of its own success
Depending on where you live, you may be surprised that rabies is still a problem. The control measures (particularly the USA and UK) introduced in the middle of the last century are so successful that rabies has fallen off the agenda.
But for people living in rural Africa and Asia, it is a constant threat.
The good news is, if rabies can be controlled in USA and UK, it can be controlled anywhere: rabies can be beaten. But, we need your help.
