“There is no known treatment to cure rabies once the infection has taken hold.” That’s such a poor choice of words , isn’t it ?
The better wording is “People who may have been infected should seek medical advice immediately, as it is very often too late once symptoms start.”
Its from the latest news.
The sentence about lack of cures grates with me, it sounds completely ignorant and perhaps dangerously ignorant.
people should seek medical advice always, its dangerous for them to assume they have their own medical diagnosis accurate. (there’s better and better pharmaceuticals, so what was true last year may not be true now !..)
There is is always treatment (stop the symptoms getting worse )
Rabies kills humans when the humans body temperature gets too high.
Treatment, stop the high temperature killing the brain
Cure is a bit misleading, as the real requirement is for a treatment of the symptoms. The word “cure” is a read herring, the treatment is enough. Cure’s are useful so that the persons symptoms can recede and not become chronic.
In this case just about every human can produce antibodies, but rabies kills too quick for that.
There is a known treatment and cure as one person did survive from full blown , almost dying from fever, rabies… They used a combinations of treatments eg ice and blood cooling, to treat the high temperature, and antivirals to attack the virus…
I’m not sure what point you’re trying to make. Before symptoms start, rabies can be cured (as in completely eradicated) with a series of shots. After symptoms start, it’s so close to 100% fatal that the few survivors are noise in the data, “treatment of the symptoms” notwithstanding.
You’re thinking of Jeanna Geise and the Milwaukee protocol. She was put into a coma for 6 days, there was no cooling treatment, her temperature was 102F and not high enough to cause the neurological symptoms she displayed. They were never able to isolate the virus from her, only antibodies. They never found the bat and so could not test it for what strain of rabies it had, which may have been a weaker strain. Of 35 additional people treated with the Milwaukee Protocol since Jeanna, four survived. Jeanna still has neurological deficits, such as balance issues and cannot run. I also think she speaks a little slurred, but that could just be me. She’s just as smart as before the infection and is a college graduate.
The Milwaukee Protocol is still controversial, and still debatable as to whether it is effective. It’s been noted that of the survivors of the Protocol, they all share the same body type which alludes to a possible genetic component as to why they survived. The best measure is still to get prophylactic vaccines as soon as immediately possible after even the smallest possible exposure. Waiting until symptoms start will give you only the tiniest, most remote chance of survival and even if you do, I’m not sure “cured” would be applicable. Jeanna is a survivor, yes. Due to lingering long term neurological issues, she’s certainly not cured.
Rabies does not kill by high fever. Controlling the fever will not prevent death.
This is correct. The rationale behind the Milwaukee Protocol is to keep the person alive long enough for their immune system to deal with the rabies virus.
As already pointed out, your assessment of the situation is incorrect. Jeanna Geise was given a combination of ketamine and midazolam to suppress brain activity (that is, put into a medically induced coma) and ribavirin and amantidine antivirals. None of those affect fever, and there was no “blood cooling” or ice involved.
Actually, there are seven survivors now. All have suffered some degree of neurological damage, some quite disabling. Others, like Jeanna, has minor impairments but have been able to resume their lives.
She is cured of rabies, as the virus is no longer in her system. She’s not chronically sick. She does have some neurological damage, but that’s an aftereffect, not a symptom of a continuing disease process.
I am not aware of any treatment known to cure clinical rabies.
There are a small number of cases where treatment aimed at ameliorating effects of the infection while it runs its course are thought to have had a positive effect.
Early intervention for exposed individuals can be lifesaving because antibodies directed against the virus before it gains entry into the nervous system, and vaccination directed toward bolstering the native immune system before it is too late, can prevent clinical rabies in many cases.
I am not inclined to take reporters to task for over simplification lest my outrage over inaccuracy consume my daily life. It’s hard enough just patrolling the Dope.
I am probably generalising, but I think what the OP is trying to say is that it is unfair to classify anything as incurable, because there might be a way to make thing better, even if for only one person.
If that is what OP is stating, then I totally agree.
I recall reading somewhere that a tiny percentage of population is thought to have resistance/immunity to rabies, so Milwaukee protocol only helped out a few that would’ve had a higher chance surviving already. Can’t cite off the top of my head, though.
But saying that rabies can’t be cured can make people see a doctor when it’s still time to do something rather than waiting until it’s too late on the assumption that a treatment will be available once symptoms have appeared.
I’m all for telling people the truth : with some very rare and recent exceptions, there’s no cure for rabies and if you wait for symptoms to appear, you’ll die. If in doubt about having been bitten, see a doctor. Immediately.
