Rabies: the disease and the value of intensive care treatment.
Rabies remains an incurable disease which is endemic in many parts of the world, particularly the Indian sub-continent. Strict muzzling orders in the latter part of the 19th century and today's modern quarantine laws have ensured the disease has remained eradicated from Britain. Isolated imported cases of human rabies do still occur and present a variety of problems for both nursing and medical staff. This article looks at the clinical features of the disease, the success in developing a potent yet safe vaccine and questions the value and justification in using an intensive care environment for rabid patients who are essentially suffering from a terminal illness.