Abstract
When I was in second grade and living in Racine, Wisconsin, there was a rabies outbreak in the greater Chicago area that received extensive media coverage. Parents kept children indoors because of a perceived risk of marauding mad dogs, and stories about the horrors of having to undergo the treatment shots were widely discussed. Even though I loved dogs, I was petrified of being bitten by a rabid animal. A recurring image from the front page of the newspaper (which I still vividly recall) of a wild‐eyed dog foaming at the mouth and fiercely biting the bars of its quarantine cage made it difficult to fall asleep many nights that fall. I've wondered whether that childhood experience of fearing a deadly illness I didn't understand influenced my decision to go into medicine. I am certain, however, that a widespread concern about a scary disease, whether it's rabies or Ebola, can affect children and adolescents in lasting ways.
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