RABIES is the original "zombie virus". It primarily spreads through the saliva of an infected animal, and the disease is usually fatal by the time symptoms manifest.
True to the definition of the word "rabid," sufferers of the disease often become confused and aggressive, and may hypersalivate or froth at the mouth. However, one lesser-known symptom of the disease is hydrophobia, or a fear of water.
Is it true that rabies causes patients to develop a fear of water?
Verdict:
PARTIALLY TRUE
As the rabies virus takes root in the central nervous system, it causes inflammation of the brain and the tissues surrounding the spinal cord.
This causes the seizures, paralysis, and abnormal behaviour displayed by rabies patients.
In particular, rabies virus attacks the parts of the brain that controls speaking, breathing and swallowing, altering the saliva production process and discouraging swallowing.
Scientists believe that the virus ingeniously manipulates its host's saliva production in order to facilitates its spread, as the virus is transmitted through the saliva in the bite of an infected animal.
The more saliva an infected animal produces, the more likely it is that the virus is able to find a new host.
In particular, it is the damage to the part of the brain that controls swallowing that causes apparent hydrophobia in patients.
The infection causes spasms in the patient’s throat when they attempt to – or even think of – swallowing anything, be it food, water, or their own saliva, making it seem as though the patient is "afraid" of water.
Rather than hydrophobia, this symptom is more accurately called dysphagia, or a difficulty in swallowing.
However, dysphagia can also indirectly lead to a conditioned fear of food and water. These involuntary spasms are so excruciatingly painful that they can, over time, induce a fear response in the patient when presented with anything associated with swallowing.
This is because the patient begins to associate these things with the pain of swallowing. While it may appear like an irrational phobia to observers, the fear is an all-too-natural response for the patient.
After all, who wouldn’t be afraid of something that causes them pain?
Sources:
1. https://www.medicalnewstoday.
2. https://www.scienceabc.com/
3. https://pennypaws.com/blog/
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
