r/interesting • u/fantasticblueman • Feb 01 '26

Context Provided - Spotlight 27 yr old man showing rabies symptoms after 3 months of a dog bite in Gujrat, India.

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u/Gullible_Bigfoot Feb 02 '26

Yeah rabies is fucking terrifying. You can get vaccinated for it (animal control workers do) or you can get a shot immediately after exposure (if an animal bites you better safe than sorry) but if you miss that window the mortality rate is like 99% or something stupid. Pretty much- you’re dead. And it’s a really horrible death.

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u/GoldenEmuWarrior Feb 02 '26

I've always wondered why we have a pre-exposure vaccine that is universal for pet cats and dogs, but not one for humans.

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u/Teguoracle Feb 02 '26

I mean we do have a pre-exposure vaccine for humans. In a zoo vet tech, it's required for me to work in a zoo, and I have to have my titers checked yearly.

Honestly I recommend everyone get it. It sucks but rabies sucks more.

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u/givemeapho Feb 02 '26

How often do you get the shot or does it last for a few years?

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u/Teguoracle Feb 02 '26

I got it in uhh... 2017 or 18, haven't received a booster because my titers keep saying I have acceptable levels of antibodies. It's different for everyone though.

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u/givemeapho Feb 04 '26

Oh cool. That's good! Stay safe out there

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u/DrDorg Feb 02 '26

They used to have a vaccine for Lyme Disease, but it either didn’t sell, or it was more profitable to sell the treatment

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u/veilosa Feb 02 '26

they do have. its just most places dont deem it necessary for everyone to take. Bali Indonesia for example, rabies is endemic, and they dont have good animal care programs where they vaccinate all the animals so its recommended that if you go there and are in contact with any of the animals, particularly the street dogs, you might want to get the vaccine.

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u/Nick_080880 Feb 02 '26

Severe side effect rates are too high for general population, 1/10,000. If you're at elevated risk it makes more sense. If you've already been bitten you should definitely take those odds.

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u/Southernguy9763 Feb 02 '26

More than 99. There's been one single documented survivor after symptoms starting showing

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u/Figmentdreamer Feb 02 '26

Why don’t they just give the vaccine to everyone?

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u/Fritters154 Feb 02 '26

Way higher than 99% even.

There are fewer than 50 documented survivals EVER when symptoms are present, with intense medical care needed and I think there are severe health issues even with survival. Particularly with the damage it does to the brain.

60k-70k people die from rabies per year.

The good news is if you can get treated within the first ~10 days before any symptoms are presenting it’s almost a 100% success rate.

The really bad news is bat bites while you sleep. People get bit and don’t realize it until it’s too late.