Why Are People Infected With Rabies Afraid Of Water?

The virus affects the entire body, and especially hits us neurologically. What happens when you’re thirsty and you see water? You salivate in anticipation of relieving that thirst. Salivation leads to swallowing, lest we drool. Well for someone in the later stages of rabies, swallowing becomes a very painful act. Rabies causes extremely painful muscle spasms in the neck and chest when swallowing, as well as vomiting and convulsions. As with anything painful, the mind tends to not want to repeat the act that leads to the pain, hence the hydrophobia. Even the sight of water can set someone with rabies off.

Up to 60,000 people get this disease every year.

Every single person who developed rabies died prior to 2004 died because of it.

Since 2004, ten people have survived a rabies infection once they showed symptoms.

In the last ten years, around 500,000 have died from rabies and less than ten people have survived.

Rabies survival rate… 0.00002% You have a 1 in 50,000 chance of surviving the disease.