3 ms·
The Victorian War on Rabies
- datakan 3mo agoStrange article. So much focus on dogs with only one mention of bats who are the primary carrier and spreader of rabies.
- Hikikomori 3mo agoThe first recorded rabies from a bat was in 2002 so not that surprising that it wasn't a focus on victorian England.
- datakan 3mo agoThe Vampire Bat Link (1911): The very first connection between bats and rabies was made by scientist Antonio Carini in Brazil. He discovered the virus in cattle that had died from a paralyzing sickness after being bitten by vampire bats. The First Confirmed Bat (1921): Researchers Haupt and Rehaag officially confirmed rabies in a bat captured by a farmer. The farmer witnessed the bat biting a calf. The United States Discovery (1953): Rabies virus infection in insect-eating (insectivorous) bats was first recognized in the United States in 1953. You make a good point but your year is off. For the purposes of the article though it should have been more evident. Other animals tend to get it from bats because bats are the primary carriers. They didn't understand that back then but we do now and it's worth talking about.
- kaikai 3mo agoI think they were citing the first human case of rabies transmitted by a bat, not the first case of rabies recorded in bats.
- nephihaha 3mo agoDogs were seen as the main vector right into the 1980s. Rightly so. A dog is more likely to attack you than a bat.
- datakan 3mo agoBut dogs typically get it from the bat. I don't understand the logic
- Tade0 3mo agoBats carry, but don't develop rabies so they don't usually attack dogs on their own - except for self defense, when they're attacked by a dog. Rabid dogs are typically aggressive and spread the infection on their own.
- datakan 3mo agoThat wasnt my point. Bats are known incubators for rabies because they are immune to it but still carry it. Dogs find the dead bats and get infected, just like other animals. They see food, they eat it, they get infected. The root cause here is the bats but everyones hyper focused on the dogs for some reason.
- nephihaha 3mo agoDogs are a lot easier to catch than bats and bats don't belong to anyone, so there's two more reasons for you. There have been very few cases of rabid bats in the UK, if any.
- graemep 3mo agoThere was one a few years ago, but it is very rare
- msandford 3mo agoMaybe you didn't read that it was the history of how Britain eradicated rabies? For most of history until the rabies vaccine if you got bit by a dog there was a 5% chance it killed you unless you amputated the affected limb. These are very high stakes for a dog bite.
- nephihaha 3mo ago
- cryzinger 3mo agoDogs were the #1 way for humans to catch rabies for most of human history, which I didn't realize until I read Rabid: A Cultural History of the World's Most Diabolical Virus.
- IAmBroom 3mo agoThey likewise didn't focus on virus theory, which was also unknown to Victorians. It's as if the article focused on the Victorian war on rabies.
- retrac 3mo agoWe're in a prolonged guerilla conflict in Canada. We are winning but the end is not in sight yet. In Ontario every year the Ministry of Forestry distributes several million doses of rabies vaccine for wildlife. The goal is to immunize the majority of skunks, foxes, raccoons and the like, particularly in populated areas. They air drop edible pellets with the live rabies vaccine; they are labeled "do not touch do not eat" because it can vaccinate most susceptible mammals, including humans.
- never_inline 3mo agoMaybe I am stupid to have to ask this, but what's the problem if a human gets vaccinated by accident?
- datakan 3mo agoThe pellets can cause localized infections or rashes to humans. More dangerous to certain groups like small children, pregnant women and people with immune system issues.
- pfdietz 3mo agoThe live adenovirus (engineered to express a rabies protein) is not entirely safe. It won't give you rabies, but it does infect you. For wild animals, it's ok if some small fraction die from it. They should spread some of these around my town in central NY; we've had rabid animals recently (cat and fox).