This page is on Rabies. If you have any questions. please feel free to email me.
Rabies can infect any mammal. Once an infection has been established in the brain of a mammal, Rabies is 100% fatal. Transmission occurs through the saliva of an infected animal, and the Rabies virus must have an opening to get into the body. Therefore, transmission occurs when the infected animal bites. Since Rabies infects the brain, the primary signs are neurological ones. Two different manifestations of a Rabies infection have been described -- Furious Rabies and Dumb Rabies. Furious Rabies is what the public typically thinks of when they hear the word Rabies or rabid. This manifestations presents as a salivating, uncontrollably vicious animal who seeks to attack anything in sight. For those of you who have seen the movie or read the book, this is the manifestation of Rabies that Cujo had. Though extremely dangerous, this form of Rabies is readily recognized and, thus, most people can avoid exposure to the animal. The Dumb form of Rabies though is less well-known. This form presents itself as erratic behavior, unusual behavior, incoordination, drooling, and difficulty swallowing. As the disease progresses, the animal enters into a near catatonic state. Since there are many diseases that can present in a similar fashion, many times the animal with dumb rabies is not recognized as rabid. These animals are often treated and handled without proper precautions. Thus, from a risk to mankind point of view even though the animal with the furious form of Rabies is physically more of a threat to man, animals with the Dumb form are medically more of a threat. To be safe, ANY animal that presents with unusual behavior or shows problems with coordination should be handled as if it had Rabies unless an other obvious explanation for the problem exists (such as, a broken leg causing the animal to have difficulty walking).
The vast majority of horses, cows, and other herbivores develop the Dumb form of Rabies. This is extremely important for owners of these animals to realize. Most people do not think of these animals as being at risk for Rabies infection. Thus, when their animal seems to have difficulty swallowing, they reach into the mouth to see if a foreign object has lodged in the animal's mouth. All the animal has to do is accidentally graze the person with its teeth, some virus-laden saliva enter the wound and now the person is infected. Or they walk out into the pasture and their animal refuses to get up and seems unconscious. In their attempts to rouse the animal they get bitten or scrape the animal's teeth and virus-laden saliva enters the wound and now the person is infected. It is wise to assume that any horse or cow that is showing any of the signs of dumb Rabies be treated with caution.
Rabies in dogs and cats presents as both forms. The majority of cats develop the furious form. This fact combined with the failure of many owners to vaccinate cats against Rabies and the exposure that cats get to rabid wildlife as they hunt, make cats a real threat for the spread of Rabies to humans. With the advent of mandatory Rabies vaccination of dogs, the number of rabid dogs have dramatically declined. The majority of dogs that do get Rabies develop the dumb form of rabies. This presentation is sometimes confused with distemper especially with older dogs.
Wildlife, particularly raccoons, that appear unafraid of mankind are often rabid. They are not usually recognized as such and people, especially children, approach and even handle them. Raccons, skunks, and foxes are the most common rabid wildlife. Any wildlife that exhibits abnormal behavior such as loss of fear, Bats have developed a way to live with a Rabies infection longer than other mammals. Although, eventually, all infected bats will die, they live longer with the virus and, thus, are more of a threat to spread the disease. Any exposure at all to bats or bats excrement is cause for concern over possible Rabies exposure.
I have researched and answered this question to the best of my ability. But I am human and make mistakes. If there is any part of my answer that you feel is incorrect, please let me know. The last thing I want is to disseminate false or incorrect information.