Rabies Symptoms in Humans

In humans, the first symptoms of rabies are flu-like.  The host may have fatigue, fever, and headache of increasing intensity. As the virus spreads through the body, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and central nervous system symptoms may arise.  Infected people may appear delirious and experience hallucinations and terror fits.

Early physical symptoms include the production of large quantities of tears and saliva along with an inability to speak or swallow which may lead to a condition known as hydrophobia. A patient experiencing hydrophobia is unable to drink and so becomes extremely frightened of  water.

Once the disease is critical the patient may develop either hyperactivity (furious rabies) or paralysis (dumb rabies).  The ensuing loss of muscle function will eventually lead to complete paralysis and nearly certain fatality within 10 days. Death is usually caused be respiratory failure.