When a provost gets rabies

To paraphrase David St. Hubbins in This Is Spinal Tap, dozens of provosts contract rabies each year. It's just not really widely reported. When it happens, deans -- who are closest by and thus most exposed -- generally get bitten. Recall that the key symptoms to keep in mind are irritability, aggressiveness, excessive movements or agitation, confusion, bizarre or strange thoughts, or hallucination, unusual postures. Also individuals with rabies produce a lot of saliva (spit), and muscle spasms in their throat might make it hard to swallow. This causes the "foaming at the mouth" symptom.

Keep an eye out and beware.

The Only Good Rabies Story

Read it here:

Jeanna Giese in the Guardian

New Rabies Variant?

Apparently there is a new strain of rabies in the US Northeast, particularly Maine. According to the Coastal Journal, 

State Veterinarian Michele Walsh theorizes a rabies strain more associated with raccoons has begun infecting gray foxes. Recent tests by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from foxes involved in attacks last year support that theory.

No cases in Norway for 200 years, until this month

A very bad rabies story: a young Norway woman traveling to the Philippines was bitten by a sick puppy back to her resort.  She fell ill and died back in Norway.  It was the first rabies death in 200 years, a remarkable statistic for a highly forested country.

Rabies Death in Costa Rica

Human deaths from rabies are alway awful.  Story here.

The child lived in the Osa area, and was bitten by the squirrel on May 5th.  Apparently the boy was eating a sweet, which the squirrel tried to take from the boy, biting him in the process

3 Rabies cases in North Baltimore

According to the Baltimore Sun, three rabid animals -- two cats and a fox -- have been found and killed in recent weeks.   According to ABC News, the cases and dates are:

- June 5: A cat was found in the 300 block of Rossiter Avenue.  A resident thought the cat had been hit by a car and transported it to Falls Road Animal Hospital for emergency care.  The cat was then taken to a second animal hospital where it was euthanized and submitted to the state public health laboratory for rabies testing.

- June 18: A cat was found lying in a yard in the unit block of Warrenton Road.  A resident took the cat to Falls Road Animal Hospital where it was euthanized and sent for rabies testing.

- June 25: A Baltimore City Animal Control Officer picked up a fox that was displaying neurological symptoms (unsteady and dragging itself) in the 1100 block of Bellemore Road.  The fox was euthanized at the city animal shelter and sent for rabies testing.

The Commissioner of Health calls the events "an opportunity to be educated."

"No woman desires a man with rabies."

Don't believe me?  Ask the Past.