Review of "Rabid: A Cultural History of the World's Most Diabolical Virus" by Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy

 

Rabies, a disease caused by the Lyssavirus, is one of the oldest and most dreaded afflictions in recorded history. The virus, which is transmitted by the bite of an infected creature, creeps along the nerves to the brain - after which it's invariably fatal.


The 'Lyssavirus' that causes rabies

Rabies can infect most warm-blooded animals, but is most often associated with dogs - who've been humankind's companions for thousands of years. People have always been wary of feral dogs, but even a pet canine will bite in the throes of the illness.


Route of rabies viruses through the human body

In current times, a person bitten by a rabid creature can be treated with 'rabies shots' (vaccine), developed by the brillliant chemist Louis Pasteur in the late 1800s. Until then, however, rabies was inevitably a death sentence to humans, and it still is in many poor nations.


Rabies shots

The term rabies comes from the Sanskrit word 'rabha' - which means rage. The name is apt because the disease transforms relatively docile creatures into mad, foaming beasts. The metamorphosis usually takes from 30 to 50 days, depending on the distance from the bite site to the brain. When the virus reaches the brain, it causes a variety of symptoms such as violent movements; uncontrolled frenzy; compulsive biting; hydrophobia (fear of water); partial paralysis; confusion; and sometimes loss of consciousness. Rabies shots work by destroying the virus before it reaches the brain, because once there, the microbe always kills its host.


Drawing of a rabid dog


A rabid dog

This book written by journalist Bill Wasik and veterinarian Monica Murphy, traces the history of rabies through the ages; the development of rabies vaccine by Louis Pasteur; the impact of rabies on civilization and culture; the devastating rabies epidemic that struck Bali in 2008; and more. The authors also touch on HIV/AIDS which is, perhaps, as dreaded as rabies.


Bill Wasik


Monica Murphy

*****

Rabies has been around for millenia. The ancient Greeks called the affliction 'lyssa' - which means frenzy, and the malady has been mentioned in cunieform writings on ancient clay tablets. The early Mesopotamians feared dog bites and the old Sanskirt medical treatise, the Sushruta Samhita, has an accurate description of rabies, noting that human victims 'bark and howl like the animals that bit them and exhibit water scare'.....after which the disease is always fatal.

Scientists believe that rabies originated in bats at least 12,000 years ago. These flying mammals then infected dogs - who passed the disease to people.


A rabid bat

Human maladies that originate in animals, called zoonoses, are very common. Zooneses include measles and anthrax - from cattle; influenza - from birds and livestock; malaria - from chimpanzees; smallpox, plague, typhus, and monkeypox - from rodents; and dengue fever - from primates.

Rabies was always associated with dogs, which 'domesticated themselves' by hanging around human enclaves for food. This proximity gave rise to a kind of dual identity: on the one hand canines were valuable hunting partners, sheep herders, and companions; on the other hand they were terrifying conveyers of rabies.

The consequences of being bitten by a mad dog led to the search for remedies, and many rabies treatments were proposed through the ages. Old texts from different parts of the world include the following suggestions:

- Bleed and cauterize the bite wound.
- Treat the wound with a sesame paste.
- Treat the wound with a paste of garlic, nettles, leeks, chives, olive oil, and vinegar.
- Feed the patient a firebaked cake made of rice, roots, and leaves.
- Kill the offending dog, remove its brain, and rub it on the wound.
- Apply salt or a brine pickle to the wound.
- Give the patient a steam bath, then pour wine into the wound.
- Set a rooster's anus on the wound, to draw out the poison.

Of course none of these therapies worked, and some people tried a prophylactic approach. The kings of France, for instance, sent their dogs to church once a year, where a mass was sung and candles were lit, in hopes of preventing rabies.



Over time it became clear that creatures other than dogs can pass rabies to humans, and people have been infected by bites from cats, coyotes, foxes, bats, skunks, and raccoons.

Besides being medically important, rabies also had a profound effect on human culture. In 1998, the Spanish neurologist Dr. Juan Gomez-Alonso speculated that rabies inspired the vampire legends of the 1800s. Gomez-Alonso pointed out that both rabies victims and vampires tend to be aggressive; to bite others; to display hypersexuality (rabies victims ejaculate repeatedly); to exhibit facial spasms (drawn back lips); and to wander at night.

It's quite possible that werewolves and zombies also stem from rabies, and that all of these 'monsters' are actually rabid humans that were misunderstood by superstitious people.


Rabies victim depicted on the television show 'Criminal Minds'


Depiction of a vampire


Depiction of a werewolf


Depiction of a zombie

Rabid (or savage) dogs and bloodthirsty humanoids have become staples of books, films, and television shows, and the authors discuss the appearances of these creatures (with plot details) in the following:

Books
Wuthering Heights; Jane Eyre; Dracula; Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; Their Eyes Were Watching God; Old Yeller; I Am Legend; The Zombie Survival Guide; World War Z; Rabid; Day of the Mad Dogs; Pride and Prejudice and Zombies; The Walking Dead.
(Note: most of these books were made into movies and/or television shows.)

Movies
Werewolf of London; Night of the Living Dead; Shaun of the Dead; 28 Days Later (the authors' favorite 😊)

The storyline of 'Day of the Mad Dogs' involves a married couple circumventing quarantine laws to bring a dog from France to England. The dog soon goes mad, and the ensuing rabies epidemic has catastrophic consequences. Unfortunately, something like this REALLY HAPPENED in Bali in 2008 (as described in the book), and it took years - and drastic measures (including culling thousands of dogs) - to get the scourge under control.

Wasik and Murphy emphasize that widespread dog vaccination is very effective for controlling the disease.


A dog getting a rabies vaccination

Unfortunately, the practice is too expensive for many developing countries, and 55,000 people die from rabies each year.....mostly in Asia and Africa.

Though rabies has been a scourge on the animal kingdom, it has one silver lining. The Lyssavirus, which is able to make its way into the brain, has helped scientists learn how to get drugs past the blood-brain barrier and into the human central nervous system.

I found the book to be interesting and informative and highly recommend it to readers interested in the subject.

Rating: 4 stars