Rabies

Rabies is a contagious infection that affects the central nervous system and is caused by a virus called Rhabdovirus. This virus enters the body through the bite of an animal that has been infected with rabies. Although many mammals can carry this virus, it is most prevalent in dogs, skunks, foxes, bats, raccoons, and cats. The virus usually lives in the nerve cells and glands of the host or carrier of the disease. Rabies can …

…as far back as 300 BC. The word rabies is actually from the Latin word for rage or fury. This disease has resulted in dogs, cats, and other domestic pets being tested to see if they have been infected with rabies. This testing is done because humans do not want to catch this potentially fatal disease. An encouraging and interesting fact about rabies is since 1990 the number of rabies cases as been reduced by eighty percent.