Health 04.11.2022   421

Why is a person with rabies virus afraid of water?

In the incident in the Adilcevaz district of Bitlis, the detection of rabies virus in two children bitten by stray dogs hit like a bomb. The condition of one of the children is serious, said Prof. Dr. Ali Bülent Cengiz from the Department of Pediatric Infectious Diseases in his statement that due to numbness and pain in the arm of one of the children, abdominal pain and fear of water appeared.

Prof. Dr. Ali Bülent Cengiz expressed that the family realized the situation too late and took their children to the hospital, saying that the wound should be cleaned well before the diagnosis of rabies and the most important thing to do is to prevent that Virus invades nerve tissue.

Why is a person with rabies afraid of water?

Aggression, hyperactivity, and hydrophobia (fear of water) are among the most well-known symptoms associated with rabies viruses. Why and how the virus does this is still unclear.

Rabies has a structure that targets both the brain and the salivary glands. In the case of a rabid animal, the procedure is as follows:

☑️ An animal is bitten by a rabid animal.

☑️ Rabies virus in infected saliva enters the wound.

☑️ The rabies virus travels through the nerves to the spinal cord and brain. This process can take about 3 to 12 weeks.

☑️ Once it reaches the brain, the virus multiplies rapidly and makes its way to the salivary glands. The animal begins to show signs of the disease.

As with all other viruses, rabies requires the host's cells to produce large quantities of virus. The host mainly invades the cells. In the early stages of rabies, fever, chills and fatigue are noted. During this process, it reaches the brain and starts damaging it.

The rabies virus reaching the brain cells causes an imbalance in the structure. By affecting more than one brain region, it causes symptoms like aggression and anger.

Some scientists believe that the rabies virus takes over certain pathways that affect aggression. When the victim becomes hyperactive and hydrophobic, they also begin to salivate excessively. Because after reaching the brain, the virus enters the salivary glands and saliva. Next is the transmission of the virus to other animals through saliva.

In order for the rabies virus to survive, it must be transmitted from one host to another. Because of this, in a rabid animal it provokes aggression and an urge to bite something.

Are people with rabies afraid of water?

Although there is a “phobia” in the name of hydrophobia, the person's fear of water is due to physical symptoms related to the rabies virus. In fact, patients with rabies may experience severe muscle spasms at the sight, taste, or sound of water.

Hydrophobia comes from the fear of extreme pain when swallowing liquids, not just water. The virus takes action to spread the saliva around the infected person instead of swallowing it. Thus, rabies can indirectly cause hydrophobia, resulting in a fear of swallowing anything, including water.