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15-Year-Old Girl Survives Rabies Infection

Posted by timothy on from the not-quite-out-of-the-woods dept.

An anonymous reader writes "A 15 y.o. girl in Wisconsin is the first known survivor of a rabies infection who did not receive the vaccine. She was placed into an induced coma while doctors gave her a cocktail of drugs to help her immune system fight the infection. (For those of us who don't realize this, rabies is considered 100% fatal once symptoms appear)."

2 of 146 comments (clear)

  1. Treatment - why it might affect you by slowtech · · Score: 3, Interesting

    It would be interesting to know a little more about the treatment. If they were using anti-virals, or something that affects the nervous system.

    Viruses that I know infect the nerves: Polio, rabies, chickenpox (herpes zoster / shingles), herpes simplex.

    There are vaccines for all but the last. Good anti-viral treatments, or anti-virals coctails that work well with nerve viruses might help with h. simplex, or h. zoster outbreaks.

    --
    "Well it's not Victory - but then it's not Death either."
  2. Re:News? Nerds? by FLAGGR · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Its news for medical/scientific nerds. I find it intereasting, because everyone else who goes untreated has died, so this is definantly some important, or at least semi interesting news.