"Rabies has the highest mortality rate of any disease," IDPH director Ngozi Ezike, said in a press release<\/a>. "However, there is life-saving treatment for individuals who quickly seek care after being exposed to an animal with rabies. If you think you may have been exposed to rabies, immediately seek medical attention and follow the recommendations of health care providers and public health officials."<\/p>\n Wildlife experts later found a bat colony living in the man's home.<\/p>\n Human rabies cases in the US are rare—only one to three cases are reported each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention<\/a> (CDC). There were 25 cases of human rabies reported in the US between 2009 and 2018. This infectious disease is rare, but you'll probably want to know more about it and how to avoid contracting it.<\/p>\n RELATED: Woman Dies From Rabies After She Was Misdiagnosed With Panic Attacks<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Rabies is a virus that's usually spread through the bite of a rabid animal. "You have to have exposure to an animal that has the disease," Aaron Glatt, MD, chairman of medicine and a hospital epidemiologist at South Nassau Communities Hospital in Oceanside, New York and a spokesperson for the Infectious Diseases Society of America, previously told Health<\/a>.<\/p>\n While bites are the most common way rabies is spread from animals to humans, it's possible to get the virus from a scratch or other abrasion from an animal with rabies, Dr. Glatt said. There's a whole list of animals that can spread rabies to humans, including bats, raccoons, dogs, ferrets, skunks, foxes, coyotes, and woodchucks.<\/p>\n It's not always easy to tell when an animal is infected with rabies, which is why it's important to see medical attention when you're bitten by any animal if you're not sure of their vaccination status, Dr. Glatt added.<\/p>\n RELATED: Rabies Symptoms and Prevention: How to Keep Yourself and Your Pet Safe<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Rabies symptoms usually include the following, according to the CDC:<\/p>\n RELATED: 'Soft' Bat Ticks Found in New Jersey—Here's What You Need to Know<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Treatment involves a post-exposure protective dose of immune globulin and four doses of the rabies vaccine over a 14-day period, the CDC <\/a>says. The vaccines are given in your arm like a flu or tetanus shot.<\/p>\n Without treatment, the virus progresses to invades the central nervous system, where it can cause these symptoms:<\/p>\n Once these symptoms have set in, the prognosis isn't usually good, Dr. Glatt explained, adding, "unfortunately, it can rapidly progress to death in just a couple of days."<\/p>\n That's why it's so crucial to seek care immediately after an animal bite. "Do not wait until you have symptoms," he said. "It may be too late at that time."<\/p>\n![\"Man](\"https:\/\/imagesvc.meredithcorp.io\/v3\/mm\/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fstatic.onecms.io%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F12%2F2021%2F09%2F29%2FSQ-tatiana-rodriguez-PdPfWNW_GTM-unsplash.jpg\")
Man Dies of Rabies After Bat Enters His Room<\/span> on Unsplash<\/a> <\/p>\nWhat is rabies? <\/h2>\n
How is rabies transmitted to humans? <\/h2>\n
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How is rabies treated? <\/h2>\n
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