Underestimated risk How dangerous is rabies actually?

Dangerous infectious disease: Rabies is still a threat

On Sunday evening was in Dortmund "crime scene" to see a man who suffered a terrible death after a rabies infection. For the TV investigators, the question was how it could ever come to this. Even some spectators have been wondering ever since whether one can actually become infected with the dangerous disease in this country. Theoretically, experts explain.

Rabies danger in Germany?

Those who sat in front of the TV on Sunday evening might have watched a prisoner die in torment in Dortmund's "crime scene". The man had been deliberately infected with rabies. But is there still a danger in Germany of becoming infected with the infectious disease believed to have been defeated? In the TV thriller, this was possible through access to rabies viruses stored in a laboratory. But is there still a risk in everyday life? Experts have answers.

In the latest "crime scene" was a death by rabies in the focus of the investigators. In Germany, the risk of infecting, hardly given. In other countries, the dangerous disease is often transmitted through dog bites. (Image: Isabel B. Meyer / fotolia.com)

Rabies demands tens of thousands every year

According to World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, around 59,000 people die of rabies each year worldwide. In Germany, the dangerous infectious disease was virtually eradicated.

Only in bats, the virus could be detected in this country in recent years, which is why experts warn that they never touch the animals with their bare hands.

"For people living in Germany, there are currently increased risks of infection almost exclusively when traveling to countries with endemic occurrence of rabies," writes the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) on its website.

Therefore, according to health experts on long-haul trips always the risk of rabies should be considered.

Infections by dog ​​bites

"Most human deaths are the result of bites from rabies infected dogs. While dogs are the main reservoir for the classic rabies virus, foxes have been foxes in Germany in the past, "says the RKI.

Even if damaged skin or the mucous membranes of the mouth, nose or eye, for example, come into contact with infected dog saliva, the virus can be transmitted.

However, the last rabies case in Germany is a long time ago. It was a man bitten by a stray dog ​​in Morocco in 2007.

There is no cure for rabies

If there is a bite or scratch, the site must be thoroughly cleaned and a doctor should be consulted. When waiting to see if rabies symptoms appear, it is usually already too late for therapy.

An infection with the rabies pathogen is usually treated with an immediate active vaccine and with special antibodies (immunoglobulin). A preventive vaccine is also available.

There is no cure for rabies. While the disease does not break out in anyone who has become infected, it does end up nearly 100 percent deadly.

Without treatment, the infection very quickly leads to death

After an infection, uncharacteristic symptoms such as headache and loss of appetite first occur. Fever does not occur in all.

Also, burning, itching and increased sensitivity to pain in the bite area are possible. At this stage, it may already be too late for treatment.

Later, it comes to cramping in the throat muscles and considerable fear of drinking. The mental state of the patients alternates between aggressive and depressive moods.

"Death usually occurs in a coma and under the signs of respiratory paralysis. Between the onset of the first symptoms and death, untreated patients have a maximum of 7 days, "writes the RKI.

Years can pass until the onset of the disease

"As a rule, the incubation period is three to eight weeks. In individual cases, it can take several years before the disease breaks out, "explains Professor Dr. med. med. Tomas Jelinek, Scientific Director of the CRM Center for Travel Medicine in a Communication.

The expert advises to prevent and get vaccinated completely with a modern cell culture vaccine before traveling. For complete protection, the rabies vaccine is given in three doses over several weeks.

In the so-called rapid immunization, it is also possible to vaccinate within a week. After contact with a rabies suspicious animal should then be vaccinated again for safety's sake. (Ad)