Rabies

Some doctors believe that vampire legends developed in part because of the bizarre behavior of people with rabies. Rabies is a viral disease that can be spread through animal bites. Similarly this could explain how someone could appear to become a vampire. This virus attacks the central nervous system, and causes the victim to become insane and act violently. Vampires are portrayed in books and movies to be violent. According to legend vampires are also repelled by light and the smell of garlic. The rabies virus causes its victim to be extremely sensitive to smell and light.^[1]

History

The word "madness" is the Latin meaning for the term "rabies". Rabies has been known to mankind since 3000 B.C. The virus itself was not isolated until 1960 A.D. "Almost every infected case with rabies resulted in death until a vaccine was developed by Louis Pasteur and Emile Roux in 1885." Before any vaccine was developed or even thought of, there were countries like Hungary that suffered from the rabies virus. This lead to confusion between the virus and vampires. ^[2]

In Hungary between 1721 and 1728 there was a rabies epidemic that affected dogs and wolves. Tales of vampirism spread like wildfire through the country at this time. According to Dr Juan Gomez-Alonso at Xeral hospital, Vampirism was used as an explanation for the people that had contracted rabies from dog and wolf bites.^[1]

Rabies and Vampires

Rabies victims from Hungary would have trouble swallowing due to swelling of the throat. This would often make the victim drool bloody saliva. Victims would also suffer from insomnia and sometimes an increased sex drive. Similarly, vampires are known to drink blood, wander during the night, and be very active sexually.^[3]

The rabies disease can also cause facial spasms, and this could result in a humans lips curling back over their teeth. Besides being transmitted by bite, rabies also can be transmitted through a scratch, having sex with someone infected, or inhaling air from a cave heavily populated with rabid bats.^[4]

Questioning the Link Between Rabies and Vampires

According to Charles Rupprecht the chief of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, humans transferring rabies to one another is rare even through bites. He says that the relation between rabies and vampires is "a bit of a stretch."^[3]

Many people believe that other diseases besides rabies are the cause of vampire myths. Porphyria and lupus are some other diseases that are known to be related to vampire traits. Before people knew about any of these diseases, it would not be difficult to confuse a victim with someone who is accused of being a vampire.

Rabies Cure

In these modern days, anyone bitten by a rabid animal is given a rabies vaccine and a dose of human rabies immune-globulin. However, there are still an estimated 55,000 human deaths annually worldwide from the rabies virus. In poor countries vaccines and doctors are not always available to help the victims of rabid animal bites. In the U.S only a few people die each year out of this 55,000 total.^[1]

In most cases, fatalities occur because the victims do not realize they have been bitten by a rabid animal. After the bite healed in a few weeks this person would start getting symptoms of this deadly virus. By this time it is most likely too late, and the person has a very slim chance of surviving.

Rabies should be treated during the incubation period of the virus to be most successful. The incubation period is roughly 2-3 weeks. If the virus spreads from the muscles to the neurons, then to the spinal cord and eventually to the brain, the patient has little chance of responding to the treatment.^[2]

There are experimental treatments available for people who have the virus where it has developed past the incubation stage. This involves creating a medically induced coma, this way the body has a small chance of fighting off the virus.

Vampire Bats and Rabies

In Central and South America, cattle breeders lose money due to cattle dying from rabies. The cause of this is vampire bats. The vampire bats are carriers of this virus and inflict it upon the cattle when they bite them. The threat is not from the bat drawing blood, but from the rabies virus they carry.

There is a new technique to reduce the number of vampire bats, and this would allow cattle to survive. A small amount of the deadly drug Warfarin is injected into the cattle. This causes the bats to have internal bleeding and death upon biting the cattle. Among animal activist this may be a controversial technique. Although, people in Central and South America need these cattle to live.^[5]

See Also

• Vampire Bats
• Mosquitos
• Porphyria

Works Cited