Two questions (possibly stupid) about rabies

We all know, of course, that rabies is usually spread when an afflicted animal bites another one – and that this aggressiveness is a major symptom of the disease. But do we know why rabid animals become vicious? Is it because the illness makes the suffering critter unable to swallow food or water, so the poor thing just goes nuts from thirst and hunger and pain? Or does the germ’s assault on the poor beastie’s braiin and nervous system cause it to become irritable and/or frightened, thus triggering assaultive behaviours? Is this something we won’t be able to find out until we figure out how to speak Dog or Skunk?

My second question is about those humans unfortunate enough to contract the dread illness, inspired by a half-remembered horror flick I caught at the drive-in many years ago – it was about people who got rabies and (this being a drive-in horror flick) started biting chunks out of their fellow-man and just generally being murderous. Of course this was mostly bullshizz, but – would a rabid person be apt to go homicidally insane? Would an urge to bite other people manifest itself? I know, I know, there’s never been but one person xurvive rabies, so nobody’s around to tell us what the afflicted person undergoes subjectively, but do we have any inkling?

Actually, a few years ago, a girl from my hometown of Milwaukee (Wisconsin) was bitten by a bat, contracted rabies, and survived. She is the only person known to have done so without immediate treatment. Story here. The story mentions some of the symptoms of rabies, including “temporary dysfunction of brain centers that control critical functions like breathing and swallowing,” but insanity and aggression aren’t mentioned. This article mentions “hyperactivity and hypersensitivity, disorientation, hallucinations” as some of the symptoms of advanced rabies in humans.

There are two kinds of rabies, caused by the same infection. “Furious rabies” is experienced by carnivores. The other kind (the name escapes me) is experienced by noncarnivores. It is furious rabies that exhibits these exciting and nasty signs. By the way, “symptoms” are features of a disease that are reported by the patient. Features of a disease that are reported by people other than the patient are “signs”.

Intriguingly, humans suffer furious rabies.

Some people think the rabies virus evolved to cause these behaviors because the behaviors spread the virus and favor its reproduction.

Another intriguing disease also thought to have influenced behaviors to facilitate its reproduction causes sexually aggressive and precocious behavior in children, who pass infection on to people who avail themselves of the precocious children.

Many diseases cause behaviors that spread them, such as colds causing sneezing, but most such diseases don’t do it by manipulating mental processing directly.

Which disease is that?

I started a thread about humans and rabies a while ago. I’l see if I can find it.

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=449367&highlight=rabies

Here’s my thread on it.

Apparently, humans do go crazy. There’s also a youtube clip of a small boy dying of rabies with restraints linked in the thread. Very creepy.

>Which disease is that?

Don’t know. I heard it discussed on National Public Radio a year or two ago, certainly no longer than 3 years ago. I don’t remember any more details to search it with, either. If I do, I’ll report back or see if it is enough to find it. Actually, I know a good place to post a query - oh, dang, never mind, we’re there.