Rabies (a hydrophobia, a hydrophobia) - the acute virus illness arising after hit on the damaged skin of a saliva of the infected animal. It is characterized by development of an original encephalitis with a lethal outcome.

Etiology, pathogenesis. The originator concerns to group of rhabdoviruses. It is pathogenic for many warm-blooded animals which start to allocate a virus with a saliva 78 days prior to occurrence of clinical signs. After introduction through the damaged skin the virus on nervous trunks reaches a brain, causing in itself has swelled, hemorrhages, a degeneration of nervous cells. The virus gets also in sialadens and with a saliva is allocated in an environment.

Signs, current. The incubation interval lasts from 10 days about one year (more often 1-3 months). Allocate 3 stages of disease: 1 - initial (depressions), 2 - exaltations and 3 - paralyses. The initial stage lasts 1-3 days. At this time the patient has unpleasant sensations in the field of a sting (a burning sensation, nagging pains, an itch) though the wound has already cicatrized, causeless alarm, depression, a sleeplessness. The stage of exaltation is characterized by a hydrophobia, an aerophobia and a hypersensibility. The hydrophobia (hydrophobia) is shown that at attempt to drink, and then only at approach labiums of a glass with water the patient has a convulsive reduction of muscles of pharynx and a larynx, respiration becomes noisy in the form of short convulsive inspirations, short-term respiratory standstill is possible. Cramps can arise from whiff to face currents of air (aerophobia). The Body temperature subfebrile. Salivation is raised, the patient cannot swallow a saliva and constantly it spits out. Exaltation accrues, there are visual and acoustical hallucinations. Sometimes there are attacks of violence with aggressive actions. In 2-3 days exaltation is replaced by paralyses of muscles of extremities, tongue, the face. The mors comes in 12-20 hours after occurrence of paralyses. As variants of current allocate the bulbar form with the expressed signs of a lesion of an oblong brain, paralytic (begins with paralyses) and cerebellar with cerebellar frustration. Differentiate from a tetanus, encephalitises, encephalomyelitises, a hysteria.