Rabies

Abstract

Rabies is an acute neurologic disease caused by a lyssavirus (of the Rhabdoviridae family) that attacks the central nervous system (CNS) of all warm-blooded animals and humans and is normally a fatal viral infection. The first written record of the disease dates to twenty-third century BC, and in fourth century BC Plato used the word ‘Lyssa’ to describe the ‘erotic passion’ or ‘madness’ (viciousness) associated with the disease at the time. Outbreaks of rabies in Europe were rare until the Middle Ages, when rabies epizootics occurring in dogs, rabid wolves, and foxes were reported in many countries. By the 1700s, rabies was common throughout Europe, particularly in central Europe, and was beginning to be reported in the New World.