RABIES AND HYDROPHOBIA

Many people resist getting vaccinated after being bitten by a dog, but they must understand that the damage is irrevocable and lethal.

WHAT IS RABIES?

Rabies is a lyssavirus-caused viral infection that can afflict warm-blooded animals such as bats, canines, and people. After entering a victim’s body, the virus affects the central nervous system 30-50 days later. In rare situations, the infection may go undetected for years.

As the virus spreads throughout the body, it produces inflammation in the brain and adjacent tissues, resulting in seizures and partial paralysis. Victims may also demonstrate aggressive or unusual behaviour, as well as a dread of water. Once the signs appear, death is nearly certain.

 There are two kinds of rabies: furious rabies and paralytic rabies. The most prevalent kind is furious rabies, which accounts for more than 80% of cases. It’s the type that comes to mind whenever rabies is mentioned. Furious rabies victims will exhibit violent or erratic behaviour, frothing at the mouth, and increased saliva production.Slow paralysis caused by paralytic rabies begins with muscle weakness and loss of sensation around the bite region.

WHAT EXACTLY IS HYDROPHOBIA?

An unreasonable fear of water, whether to drink or swim in. Hydrophobic refers to someone who is afraid of water. A word for rabies that was historically regularly used because, in the later stages of the disease, the animal (or person) has difficulty swallowing and hence fears a drink of water.

WHY DOES RABIES CAUSE FEAR OF WATER?

 Rabies affects the brain regions that control speech, swallowing, and breathing. It disrupts the saliva production process and creates painful muscle spasms, making swallowing difficult. The virus multiplies in saliva. Swallowing helps to decrease the spread. As a result, it acts instantly to cause its victim to manufacture more saliva and disperse that saliva around rather than swallowing it. “Why are animals infected with rabies afraid of water?” They are terrified of any food or drink.

Thus, rabies indirectly causes hydrophobia. It produces dysphagia, or the fear of swallowing anything, including water. This explains why, as the disease progresses, infected animals drool excessively, rabies striving to disseminate itself.

WHY DOES RABIES CAUSE HYDROPHOBIA?

If you have a pet, you are aware that rabies is a severe and frequently fatal disease. You may have be aware that one of its symptoms is hydrophobia, or a severe fear of water, but do you know why this happens? Continue reading to find out more about rabies and the science underlying its symptoms.

DOES RABIES CAUSE HYDROPHOBIA IN DOGS?

Following a rabies infection, a dog might suffer hydrophobia. It is, however, uncommon. Hydrophobia is a rabies symptom that is more commonly observed in humans than in dogs or cats.If your dog is involved in an altercation that may have exposed them to rabies, contact your veterinarian right once. If you wait long enough for rabies signs to appear, the disease will have expanded beyond the scope of medical treatment. The dog will not recover if neurological symptoms such as excessive drooling emerge.

Keep in mind that rabies symptoms may not develop for several weeks after the suspected exposure. Checking to see if your dog consumes water a few days after a potential rabies exposure isn’t a perfect way to rule out rabies.

IS HYDROPHOBIA CAUSED BY DOG BITES?

A dog bite alone does not produce hydrophobia. Only rabid dog bites can produce hydrophobia. However, after a dog bite, it is critical to seek professional diagnosis and treatment. Other health issues that may occur as a result of neglected dog bites include:

• Bacterial Infection :. Staphylococcus, capnocytophaga, and pasteurella are some of the bacteria found in a dog’s mouth. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) may be present in some dogs. 
•  If a dog bites through the skin, some of these microorganisms can cause bacterial illnesses. Immunocompromised people have an increased risk of infection.

• Nervous And Musculoskeletal Damage:  Regardless of the size of the bite, a dog bite can cause damage to blood vessels, muscles, and nerves. A bite from a huge dog breed, on the other hand, might result in fractured, broken, or splintered bones in the hands, feet, and legs. As a result, it’s advisable to seek emergency treatment as soon as possible after being bitten.
• Tetanus Infection:  Tetanus is a rare infection in most developed nations due to childhood immunization. Adults are also given booster shots every ten years. A dog bite, on the other hand, can cause tetanus in those with low immune systems or who have not received booster immunisations in more than 20 years. But this is not a story about undeveloped or underdeveloped countries, where rabies is common and the mortality rate is high.

Overall, rabies deaths in humans are extremely rare in developed countries, thanks to obligatory pet immunisations. Death rates are highest in areas with lax quarantine and animal immunization programmes.

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Author: Master Vikrant RohinMaster Vikrant Rohin is an international author, and more than four countries’ schools are using his books in the core curriculum of education. He is the author of twenty different subject books. History, Economics, Chemistry, Physics, English, Biology, Geography etc. Most of his students hold high-ranking positions in the public and private sectors. He has cracked the world’s toughest exam, the "Civil Services Examination (UPSC)," eight times. Always a topper in academics, he was also a top-class sportsman, a state boxer, and a basketball player.