Rabies
...h raccoons, skunks, foxes, and coyotes. The most common carrier of the rabies virus statistically is raccoons. Along with these land mammals, bats have also been identified as common reservoirs for the disease. In reference to animals that are carriers, there are two main types of rabies, furious rabies and dumb rabies. Furious rabies involves the common perception of rabid animals, hyperactive and agitated, quick to bite and snap at anything that crosses their path. The other type of rabid animal is the variety that has ‘dumb rabies’, which causes paralysis and lackadaisical behavior, difficulty walking in land animals and difficulty flying in bats. While both types of rabies look different in the effected animal, both progress to complete paralysis and eventually coma and death in every case. The rabies virus can be passed on to humans several ways. Whether acquired through the bite of an animal, or direct contact with saliva or excretions, the onset of symptoms in the same. The host will first develop flu like symptoms, with malaise, fever, or headache, along with itchiness or discomfort at the site of the infection, lasting for days. As the disease progresses, the virus is received by the peripheral nerves and transported into the CNS, via sensory and motor nerves at the site of infection. Once this occurs, symptoms progress to cerebral dysfunction, anxiety, confusion, agitation, delirium, abnormal behavior, hallucinations, insomnia, slight paralysis, excitation, hypersalivation, difficulty swallowing, and hydrophobia (the fear of water). Unfortunately,...