The modern world has few real monsters these days. Most of the worries of ancient cultures of witches, vampires and various other dangerous creatures lurking in the dark have been dispelled. This does not mean that there are not still scary things stalking the planet, only that most have been identified and are no longer considered the threat they once were. One of these worries is rabies. Unfortunately, despite a clear understanding of how it is caused, what it can do and a vaccination that can prevent it, rabies still continues to take lives around the world.
The Disease and its Symptoms
Rabies is a virus that causes damage to the central nervous system. It is always fatal in humans unless treatment is received before the virus reaches the nervous system. The rabies vaccine was created in 1885 by Louis Pasteur and Emile Roux. Pasteur's previous work with the smallpox and Anthrax viruses provided a starting point for the development of the rabies vaccine. The first dose was given to a nine-year-old boy exposed to the disease. Knowing the boy would face certain death without treatment, the decision was made to give him the experimental drug. The boy survived and the world finally had some protection against the frightening disease.
Hollywood, Literature and Rabies
Despite preventative measures and treatments being available for 130 years, rabies has not been eradicated. This has made the fear even stronger of the formidable disease. Writers and Hollywood directors have banked on this fear, using rabies in a number of ways. Old Yeller is a familiar example, but even To Kill a Mockingbird includes a scene with a rabid dog. The most famous of Hollywood adaptions of the reality of rabies is with Stephen King's Cujo. So well-known is this film that a California rabies law was jokingly amended to become dubbed "Cujo's Law".
Additional Hollywood Inspirations
Rabies is considered by some to be the inspiration for many of Hollywood's most frightening creations. Vampires, zombies and werewolves all pass their infection along to otherwise healthy humans in the same manner as the rabies disease is spread; through a bite. Rabies is spread solely through the saliva of an infected victim and, like the mythical monsters previously mentioned, causes aggressiveness and uncontrollable behavior.
Whales and Rabies
There has never been a confirmed case of a whale with the rabies virus. However, any mammal can contract the disease, including whales, dolphins and porpoises. The chances of these deep-sea animals coming in contact with a diseased animal is rare, but it could happen. A ringed seal was diagnosed in Norway and believed to have been exposed by a fox during a local epidemic.
Currently, rabies cases have been found in every state except Hawaii and is present on every continent except Antarctica. Thanks to vaccination laws, new infections are occurring in predominantly wild animals rather than domestic pets. Human deaths from rabies is rare in North America, but does still occasionally occur. All cats and dogs should be vaccinated according to local regulations, and any cases of wild animals acting suspicious should be immediately reported.
