The Indiana Department of Health announced Tuesday that a woman from Clark County in southern Indiana has died as the result of a rabies infection.
The woman's identity was not made public. Test results by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveal the infection came from a bat. The woman had not reported exposure.
This death is only the second rabies death in Indiana since 1959, and the first since 2006, according to the state Department of Health.
While rabies continues to be a concern in animals, human cases are far rarer. According to the CDC, there was only one case of rabies in a human in 2008, as compared to 7,258 cases in animals throughout the United States and Puerto Rico.
Rabies is a viral disease that attacks the central nervous system in warm-blooded animals. It is most commonly transmitted by the bite of an infected animal, but occasionally by other forms of contact. The majority of rabies cases are the result of dog bites.
Early symptoms include fatigue, headache and fever. As the disease progresses, symptoms become more severe, including violent movements, acute pain, depression and difficulty swallowing. Finally, the patient may experience mania and lethargy, then a coma.
If post-exposure prophylaxis is not administered before the onset of severe symptoms, rabies is nearly always fatal. The primary cause of death in rabies patients is respiratory insufficiency.
Since there are so many cases of rabies in animals, health officials recommend that anyone who has been bitten by an animal or possibly exposed to rabies seek medical attention.
Written by Nicole Palmby
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