The rabies virus belongs to a group of viruses called lyssaviruses, which exist in warm blooded animals. The disease is transmitted through infected saliva.
Rabies can spread to humans from infected animals, usually dogs, through a bite or a lick to broken skin or the eye. Domestic dogs and cats can become infected with rabies if they come into contact with wild animals that have the disease, such as foxes, wolves, jackals, skunks, mongooses, raccoons and bats.
The rabies virus remains at the site of the bite and multiplies in the muscle cells near to the bite wound, before entering the body. The virus enters the nerve endings and travels to the spinal cord and brain (the central nervous system). Once the virus is in the central nervous system, it will spread to the salivary glands, lungs, kidneys and other organs.
Incubation period
The incubation period (the time between the bite and the onset of symptoms) will vary depending on the distance of the bite from the head.
If a bite occurs near the head, such as the neck or face, then the rabies virus has a shorter journey to travel to the brain. So the incubation period is shorter than in bites to the legs and feet.
Children, particularly young children, tend to have relatively a short incubation period than adults. This is because children are shorter, so their upper body is closer to the ground, making them more vulnerable to bites higher up the body.
