Here's what you need to know about rabies

Dr. Scott Weese doesn't mess around when it comes to rabies. 

An infectious-diseases veterinarian, Weese recalls when he, his family, as well as some visitors all had to receive vaccinations after being exposed to a potentially rabid bat. 

"It was a bit of a mess, but it … shows a lot of things we need to consider when it comes down to who actually is exposed," he told The Dose host Dr. Brian Goldman. 

Human cases of rabies are extremely rare in Canada, but some people do still come into contact with rabid animals. A Brantford, Ont., child recently died after coming into contact with an infected bat, in the province's first domestically acquired case of rabies since 1967.    

Not only is it relatively simple to avoid exposure to the disease, experts say, but there are also effective treatments available for both humans and animals who may have been exposed, including vaccines. 

Rabies is transmitted when an infected mammal's contaminated saliva gets into a new mammalian host through a bite, lick or scratch. 

The virus travels through the victim's peripheral nervous system, according to Dr. Isaac Bogoch, an infectious-diseases specialist. It eventually settles into the central nervous system. 

"Initial symptoms are non-specific fever, chills, sometimes headache, sometimes muscle aches and pain," said Bogoch, speaking to The Dose host Dr. Brian Goldman. 

Without treatment, eventually, one of two conditions develops: encephalitic rabies or paralytic rabies, which is less common. 

"Basically, the final common pathway, sadly, is coma and death," said Bogoch. 

Another sign of possible rabies infection is a condition known as hydrophobia. Someone infected with rabies will experience muscle spasms in their throat and diaphragm when presented with liquids. Aerophobia, a fear of drafts or puffs of air, is another sign.

Paralytic rabies is sometimes called dumb rabies, and is a "flaccid paralysis that may descend through the body," according to Bogoch. 

People with paralytic rabies slowly lose the ability to move parts of their bodies, beginning with the initially infected body part. If left untreated, patients fall into a coma and eventually die. 

Rabies has an incredibly high fatality rate when left untreated, almost always leading to death.