Global estimates suggest that around 60,000 deaths occur annually due to rabies, one-third of which is from India alone. 1 Encephalitis that results from rabies infection leads to the 100% fatality associated with the disease. 2 However, early and complete postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) can prevent rabies. 3 This article discusses the rare cases of survival from rabies and the importance of PEP in preventing the disease. Rabies is a zoonotic disease that is invariably fatal.
It is caused by the rabies virus, a bullet-shaped virus of Genus: Lyssavirus. 4 It can be present as either the more common classical furious form or as paralytic rabies. The classical signs and symptoms of furious rabies are hydrophobia/aerophobia, respiratory spasms, fluctuating consciousness, and signs of autonomic dysfunction. The average duration of survival after the clinical onset of rabies is 5.7 days for…
