Rabies Facts And Figures
Knowing these rabies facts and figures will help you to feel more at ease about going into dark and creepy caves. Maybe.
The Truth about Rabies
Rabies is misunderstood because it’s not as prevalent as movies and overdramatic soap opera stories would have you think.
Here are some facts from the WHO (World Health Organization):
- More than 55, 000 people die of rabies each year.
- About 95% of human rabies deaths occur in Asia and Africa.
- Most human deaths follow a bite from an infected dog.
- Between 30% and 60% of the dog bite victims are children under the age of 15.
- Animal vaccinations on dogs and other household animals help to prevent the spread of rabies.
- Only 36 cases of rabies have been reported since 1980 in the United States, 21 of them linked to bats.
- Each year, about 40,000 people receive treatment for bites from potentially infected animals to prevent rabies.
- Rabies is found throughout the world except for a few islands, Australia, and Antarctica.
- Rabies is fatal if not treated.
- Rabies is nearly 100% treatable when the wound is cleaned and the rabies vaccine is administered within 10 days of exposure.
The truth is that not much is discussed when it comes to rabies since it’s not as prevalent as it once was.
However, since household pets are less likely to have rabies, this means the virus has to find a new home. Right now, wild animals seem to have a higher incidence of rabies than ever before, causing health organization folks to be more excited, um, nervous than ever. They are looking into ways to find out how to stop the spread of rabies, even though wild animals are more likely to spread the disease amongst themselves than to humans.