A Tale of Two Worlds: Public Health Management Decisions in Human Rabies Prevention

Abstract

Rabies is an acute, progressive, incurable encephalitis. Causative agents are found in the family Rhabdoviridae , genus Lyssavirus [ 1 ]. Rabies virus is the best-studied agent, but new taxa continue to emerge [ 2 ]. Notwithstanding its recognition on a global basis for millennia, the disease maintains its present foothold via persistence in a variety of widely distributed mammals. Dogs remain the primary reservoir in developing countries, whereas wild species serve as hosts in developed nations. Rabies is notable as the infectious disease with the highest case-fatality ratio, yet its scope remains underappreciated, despite obvious veterinary and public health significance [ 3 ].