The prevention and management of rabies.

Rabies is a lyssavirus infection resulting in acute encephalitis or meningoencephalitis that is virtually always fatal. The disease can be caused by several different rabies and rabies-like viruses (box 1). Rabies is a neglected tropical disease that predominantly affects the most vulnerable humans—children living in the most disadvantaged areas of the poorest countries. Many countries have successfully reduced the impact of the disease by tackling the gap between public and animal health through a concerted “one health” approach. Clinicians worldwide need to be aware of rabies and vigilant about the possible exposure of patients to infection because timely prevention is life saving. The purpose of the review is to give an overview of rabies prevention and the management of patients who may have been exposed to infection or are suspected of having rabies. What is the global burden of rabies?