A virus that is preventable after exposure but fatal once symptoms begin. Explore its illustrative 3D model, human context, and sources.
CDC describes rabies as a fatal but preventable viral disease that spreads to people through bites and scratches from infected animals and primarily affects the central nervous system. WHO states that dog bites and scratches cause up to 99% of human rabies cases. Care given after an exposure and before symptoms start is nearly 100% effective at preventing the disease.
WHO states that once the virus infects the central nervous system and clinical symptoms appear, rabies is fatal in 100% of cases, and that deaths are preventable with prompt post-exposure prophylaxis. CDC states the disease is rare in people in the United States, with fewer than 10 deaths reported a year, while dogs are responsible for more than 95% of an estimated 70,000 human deaths a year worldwide. This is why exposure is treated as an emergency.
Rabies virus · bullet-shaped enveloped particle. A representative lyssavirus bullet shape; the flat and rounded ends distinguish it from an oval virion. The colours, proportions, protein shapes and visible counts are illustrative, not measured or an atomic reconstruction. Independent scientific review remains pending.
Source check: 2026-09-19. Educational content; independent scientific review remains pending.