The average incubation period is 3 to 7 weeks.
It is an often deadly viral infection that is spread mainly by infected animals.
Acute infectious disease of the central nervous system, which affects almost all mammals, including humans, caused by a rhabdovirus, and is generally spread by bites from rabid animals whose saliva is loaded with virus.
Important animal vectors are the dog, cat, bat, mongoose, skunk, wolf, raccoon, and fox.
The actual period between infection and when one becomes ill (called the “incubation period”) varies from 10 days to 7 years.
The average incubation period is 3 to 7 weeks.
Symptoms may include: Anxiety, stress and tension, Drooling, Seizures, Exaggerated tenderness at the bite site, Excitability, Loss of sensation in one area of the body, Loss of muscle function, Fever of 100°F, Muscle spasms , Numbness and tingling, Pain at the bite site, Positive Babinski reflex, Restlessness, Difficulty swallowing (drinks spasm the larynx).
Rabies is a virus that can be transmitted to any mammal.
The most common transmission vectors are dogs and cats in urban or rural areas and bats in wild areas.
The virus is commonly present in the nervous system or in the saliva of the affected animal.
Commonly, but not always, the virus is transmitted through a bite.
Recently, data on contagion due to atypical exposures have been presented, basically consisting of contagions from handling meat and viscera from infected animals in kitchens.