Rabies-Amber+and+Alexis

=//**Rabies**// = Amber Housley & Alexis Ukaha  Rabies is a part of the Rhabdoviridae family of viruses and affects RNA.**
 * Scientific name: Rhabdovirus or Rabies virus



Path of the Rabies Virus

 * || 4. The virus incubates in raccoon's body for approximately 3-12 weeks. The raccoon has no signs of illness during this time. ||  ||
 * 3. Rabies virus spreads through the nerves to the spinal cord and brain. || [[image:http://www.cdc.gov/rabies/images/ani_raccoon_rabies_virus.gif width="188" height="122" caption="The infectious path of rabies virus in a raccoon."]] || 5. When it reaches the brain, the virus multiplies rapidly, passes to the salivary glands, and the raccoon begins to show signs of the disease. ||
 * 2. Rabies virus enters the raccoon through infected saliva. || 1. Raccoon is bitten by a rabid animal. || 6. The infected animal usually dies within 7 days of becoming sick. ||

INFORMATION = =  __//**HISTORY ** //__

Rhabdovirus has been around since 2300 B.C. The disease is prevalent in almost all parts of the world. In Latin rabies means "to rage", an Italian physician named Girolama Fracastoro discovered that the virus was deadly in humans and animals in the 16th century. At that time he referred to it as an "incurable wound". Later in 1855 a French chemist and biologist named Louis Pasteur created the first rabies vaccine.

//__**BACKGROUND**__//

Once someone contracts this disease and doesn't receive treatment it is usually fatal. The virus is found in saliva, mucus membranes and nervous tissue of a rabid animal. The virus attacks different parts of the body. Majority of the cases regarding rabies reported to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention involve wild animals; raccoons, skunks, bats and foxes. The rabies virus affects the nervous system, causing encephalopathy and can have a fatal result.

//__**STATISTICS**__//

In 2001 7,437 cases involving rabies were reported in the United States. There was one case concerning humans in 2001 and three cases concerning humans in 2002. Wild animals represented for 93% of reported cases of rabies in 2001.  Raccoons (37.2 percent) Skunks (30.7 percent) Bats (17.2 percent) Foxes (5.9 percent) Other wild animals; rodents and lagomorphs (0.7 percent  Approximately 120,000 animals are tested for rabies every year in the United States, approximately 6% are found rabid. <span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">
 * __//TRANSMISSION//__**

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: center; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">Humans can become infected if the virus comes in contact with tissues of the mouth nose or eyes and by a cut or scratch from an animal carrying rabies. However, it is most often transmitted by the bite of a rabid animal. The virus can also be transmitted from one person to another although it's rare. Transmission cannot occur through casual contact; touching, etc. Only mammals can become infected, animals do get sick and the cycle is repeated with humans and other animals.


 * __//SYMPTOMS//__**

When someone is infected with rabies the virus expands within the body until symptoms develop. The time period between the infection and the start of symptoms is called the incubation period. This period of time can take a few days years, but usually one to three months.

//**EARLY SYMPTOMS** ~FEVER ~HEADACHE ~TIREDNESS ~DISCOMFORT & NUMBNESS//

//**NEUROLOGICAL SYMPTOMS** ~INSOMNIA ~ANXIETY ~CONFUSION ~PARALYSIS ~EXCITATION ~HALLUCINATIONS ~AGITATION// <span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">~DIFFICULTY SWALLOWING ~HYDROPHOBIA

<span style="font-size: 160%; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-color: rgb(0, 0, 128); text-align: center; display: block;">Details About Infection:

//**Once the virus injects its DNA/RNA into the cell, what happens?**//
 * Which human cells does it infect? How does infection occur?**

Rabies is a Virus. In Latin the Word Rabies means “To Rage”. What the rabies does to the human body is mainly corrupt the nervous system. A human’s nervous system helps direct the body’s movement. And if contracted on by rabies, it affects the nerves.

Rabies is like a mechanism. There are about 4 stages an individual will experience when the virus interacts with their cells. The infection occurs by the following:

• First is the Attachment: The rabies virus attaches itself to a healthy nerve cell. • Second is the Penetration: The cell takes in the virus. • Third is Replication: Within the cell, the virus starts to rapidly multiply in size. • Fourth is the Budding: The new rabies virus leaves the individual’s cell. It then attaches to other nerve cells, and the virus then travels from the brain to the rest of the body by the nerves.

//**What host cell organelles are involved? What host cell enzymes are involved?**//

Once rabies injects its DNA into the host cells, the virus travels along the peripheral nerves (the nerves that run throughout the entire body). Its main goal being the central nervous system; that in which the brain and spinal chord make up.



//**How does the human body fight the virus?**//

The body is known to have a nature defense system, called the immune system. Which helps to defend the body from certain diseases and sickness depending upon how strong the individual’s immune system is. Yet sometimes the body needs a little help in order to fight off a new disease, or get rid of faulty bacteria. This is where vaccines come into play or immunizations (which is common for the rabies virus).

//**How has the virus changed over time? Are there documented cases of it mutating?**//

In Northern Arizona rabies strain has has mutated and become contagious amongst wild animals. Apparently, the strain is spreading rapidly and is gaining the attention of researchers around the United States. Reports have shown that animals have the ability to spread the virus through social contact, as humans may spread the flu. The virus is unusually able to spread within a certain species; skunk to skunk.

//**How is this virus treated by medical professionals? Do we have a vaccination/immunization against this virus? How can infection be prevented?**//

Doctors suggest that wound cleansing and immunizations, should be done as soon as possible, after suspecting contact with an animal and/or any other contact with rabies. It’s treated medically through vaccines. Rabies immunoglobulin (antibody) vaccines - which are expensive and can be in short supply or non-existent in most developing countries, are recommended for the rabies virus.



<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">

//**How is this virus treated by medical professionals? Do we have a vaccination/immunization against this virus? How can infection be prevented?**//

Doctors suggest that wound cleansing and immunizations, should be done as soon as possible, after suspecting contact with an animal and/or any other contact with rabies. It’s treated medically through vaccines. Rabies immunoglobulin (antibody) vaccines - which are expensive and can be in short supply or non-existent in most developing countries, are recommended for the rabies virus.

“The advent of scientific medicine makes rabies control possible, not by cure but by prevention” - Health Encyclopedia - Diseases and Conditions

Unlike other immunizations, the rabies vaccine is admitted after exposure to the virus. This unusual technique is works successfully because the rabies virus takes a long time to stimulate the disease (a min. of 10 days, and in rare cases, up to one year).

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace; color: rgb(255, 255, 255); background-color: rgb(128, 0, 128); text-align: center; display: block; font-size: 140%;">LINKS []

[]

[] <span style="display: block; text-align: center; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[| http://www.stanford.edu/group/virus/rhabdo/2005/Images%20for%20website/this%20one.jpg]

[| http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/en/Business/Rabies/2ColumnSubPage/STEL02_164616.html]

[| http://rabies.emedtv.com/rabies/rabies-symptoms.html]

[| http://www.cdc.gov/rabies/history.html]

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="display: block; text-align: center; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">