Death by Rabies
I found out today that my Uncle's Cousin died of rabies infection recently. What a horrible way to pass on, my heart goes out to his family, he was only 16 years old.
It seems a bat had gotten into his household and at some point he was bitten but never told anybody. Rabies has a 'days to months' eclipse period where it's not easily detectable, so he probably thought he was ok.
Here's a tidbit from the CDC:
The first symptoms of rabies may be nonspecific flu-like signs — malaise, fever, or headache, which may last for days. There may be discomfort or paresthesia at the site of exposure (bite), progressing within days to symptoms of cerebral dysfunction, anxiety, confusion, agitation, progressing to delirium, abnormal behavior, hallucinations, and insomnia. The acute period of disease typically ends after 2 to 10 days (6). Once clinical signs of rabies appear, the disease is nearly always fatal, and treatment is typically supportive. Disease prevention is entirely prophylactic and includes both passive antibody (immune globulin) and vaccine. Non-lethal exceptions are extremely rare. To date only six documented cases of human survival from clinical rabies have been reported and each included a history of either pre- or postexposure prophylaxis.
Tip of advice, folks - if you get bit by an animal, seek medical help immediately.
Get checked out for rabies.
It seems a bat had gotten into his household and at some point he was bitten but never told anybody. Rabies has a 'days to months' eclipse period where it's not easily detectable, so he probably thought he was ok.
Here's a tidbit from the CDC:
The first symptoms of rabies may be nonspecific flu-like signs — malaise, fever, or headache, which may last for days. There may be discomfort or paresthesia at the site of exposure (bite), progressing within days to symptoms of cerebral dysfunction, anxiety, confusion, agitation, progressing to delirium, abnormal behavior, hallucinations, and insomnia. The acute period of disease typically ends after 2 to 10 days (6). Once clinical signs of rabies appear, the disease is nearly always fatal, and treatment is typically supportive. Disease prevention is entirely prophylactic and includes both passive antibody (immune globulin) and vaccine. Non-lethal exceptions are extremely rare. To date only six documented cases of human survival from clinical rabies have been reported and each included a history of either pre- or postexposure prophylaxis.
Tip of advice, folks - if you get bit by an animal, seek medical help immediately.
Get checked out for rabies.
by Ink and Stone at 10:27 AM
2 Comments:
That is absolutely horrible, Ryk. I can't even imagine what that must be like.
I'll tell ya what, I have lost respect for the Caped Crusader after reading that story.
No reason to lose respect for Batman, Karl... after all, he's Batman, no Rabiesman.
Yeah, I didn't actually know the guy, I hope he's at peace, though. It makes me wonder if a person is conscious of what's happening to them as they go through the stages of madness towards death.
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