Dog is regarded as a faithful animal. But when it goes mad it becomes very dangerous. If a mad dog bites someone, it leads to his death if not treated properly.
A dog goes mad when it suffers from a disease called ‘rabies’. This disease is caused by a virus which is carried by air or by some wild animals and enters the dog’s body through a wound in its skin. The virus is bullet shaped having a diameter of about 70 milli-microns and a length of about 210 milli-microns. It moves from the saliva to the infected wounds and through sensory nerves to the central nervous system, multiplies there and then destroys brain cells. The dog becomes lazy, suffers from fever and loses all interest in food. In about 4-6 weeks, when these viruses affect the dog’s brain, the dog gets excited. It growls and barks and saliva froths from the mouth. During this period, the dog can bite anybody. This is the stage when the dog is said to be mad. After these symptoms appear, it is likely to die within 3 to 5 days. Some infected dogs do not go mad but show signs of paralysis, called ‘dumb rabies’.
When a mad dog bites a man, the virus present in its saliva enters man’s body through the wound. Initially the victim experiences mental weakness and uneasiness which is followed by fever. He suffers from lack of sleep and feels frightened. The muscles in his throat get slackened and he faces difficulties in swallowing food or liquid. He is afraid of water. That is why this condition is also called ‘hydrophobia’ which means ‘fear of water’. These signs appear in the victim within one to three months after dog’s bite. In cases of dog-bite, the affected portions should be immediately cleaned and anti-rabies injections should be given to the victim within three days of the bite, the number of injections varying from 3 to 14 depending on the location and number of bites.
The virus of rabies also attacks foxes, jackals, monkeys, cats and rats because they have the least contact with us.