Rabies Virus

Rabies Virus

Rabies virus is a microbe that causes rabies. The virus is transmitted to mammals through bites or scratch from infected animals. While the virus is preventable, rabis swiftly affects that nervous system and transports it to the brain, causing death. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2019) reported that a significant majority of highlighted viral cases and mainly from bats, skunks, foxes, and raccoons (par. 1). Although rabies virus can affect any mammal, some mammals indicate a higher rate of transmission than others. Rabies belongs to the main order of Mononegavirales, which are non-segmented negatively-stranded RNA genomes (CDC, 2019). Since they have a distinct bullet shape, rabies virus falls under the broader Rhabdoviridae family under the genus Lyssavirus (CDC, 2019). Rabies is 100% once the symptoms indicate, and 99% of the cases in humans are caused by dogs (World Health Organization [WHO], 2020). Rabies is present in every continent, except Antarctica. However, 95% of mortality rates are reported in Africa and Asia (WHO, 2020). The control of the viral mortality rate needs a deep understanding of rabies symptoms, its effects on human health, and existing therapeutic interventions to counter its spread.

Symptoms

According to the WHO (2020), rabies’ symptoms depend on the form of the disease in an individual. One can either have furious rabies or paralytic rabies, with each type expressing its own unique sets of symptoms. The CDC (2019) indicates that the disease has an incubation period that may sometimes last between a few weeks to months. The incubation period depends on the duration of viral spread from the site of scratch to the brain. Approximately 20% of the total reported cases to result in the paralytic type of rabies (WHO, 2020). Furious rabies signs include hyperactivity, anxiety, hydrophobia, and occasional aerophobia. As explained by the WHO (2020), death from furious rabies is initiated by characteristic cardio-respiratory arrest, which may occur in a few days.

Paralytic rabies is the lesser severity of the two forms and only affects individuals gradually. The type is characterized by muscle paralysis that begins at the scratched part of the body. As time passes, the disease grows from scratch or bite points to other body parts, eventually leading to a coma and subsequent death. Paralytic rabies is given less attention and under-reporting since they are misdiagnosed in many cases (WHO, 2020).

The Impact on Human Health

On an annual average, rabies is responsible for causing approximately 59,000 deaths around the globe. The CDC (2019) asserts that 95% of these deaths occur in Asia and Africa. The global health burden for rabies is U.S.$ 8.6 billion per year (WHO, 2020). Of the total number of bites or scratches from rabid animals, 40% affects children under the age of 15 (WHO, 2020). Epidemiologists are concerned with lowering the numbers of rabies in Asia and Africa and cutting the disease burden cost to cover the needs arising in other chronic conditions or pandemics. Epidemiologists are worried that once rabies is established, no existing interventions can be applied to reverse the effect, only providing supportive care to the infected. Antiviral agents have also proven non-effective for individuals who were not vaccinated beforehand (virology-online.com, n.d.). Thus, the worry remains the high mortality rates after infection and the potential neurological sequelae caused by the virus.

Treatment

The treatment options after the potential exposure to rabies include wound treatment, active immunization, and passive immunization. According to Viroloy-Online.com (n.d.), the essence of wound treatment is to clear the virus from the scratched or bit areas before they get absorbed into the body. During wound treatment, surgical debridement takes place. However, the wound is not sutured to make local site treatment less cumbersome.

Passive immunization involves applying human rabies immunoglobulin around the affected area (virology-online.com, n.d.). The procedure confers short-term control of the viral spread, and there is a need to combine the method with active immunization. Equine rabies immunoglobulin is readily available in most nations and is less costly than human rabies immunoglobulin, hence, offering potential readily available emergency interventions (virology-online.com, n.d.). Active immunization is done through the administration of the human diploid cell vaccine preparation. The procedure requires five doses of the vaccine to be applied to the deltoid region (virology-online.com, n.d.). People at risk of exposure should also be given immunization doses of cell culture vaccines and subsequent booster vaccines every three years.

I think that adaptive immunity offers promising results than innate immunity in fighting the prevalence of rabies. Since there are fewer reported cases of recoveries after rabies infection, it can be deduced that the innate immunity is ineffective in alleviating the adverse symptoms of the virus. However, vaccines have proven to be effective, especially when both animals and people are vaccinated beforehand. According to Tortora, Funke, and Case (2016), adaptive immunity allows the body to fight diseases by creating antibodies for previously reported antigens. Thus, adaptive immunity compels the immune system to defensively device mechanisms against the virus before exposure.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (Jun. 11, 2019). Rabies. CDC. Retrieved        Aug. 7, 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/index.html

Tortora, G. J., Funke, B. R., & Case, C. L. (2016). Microbiology: An introduction (12th ed.).        Boston, MA: Pearson.

Virology-Online.com (n.d). Rabies. Retrieved from https://virology-            online.com/viruses/Rhabdoviruses.htm

World Health Organization (WHO) (Apr. 21, 2020). Rabies. World Health Organization. Retrieved Aug. 7., 2020, from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/rabies