Rabies is one of the oldest known pathogens, is incurable, and has the
highest fatality rate of all infectious diseases. The Americas is the
only region with bat rabies virus, including vampire bat rabies. The
region is rich in cultural references and notable for many discoveries
in the field, including the current vaccine potency test, diagnostic
assay, conception of oral vaccines for wildlife, the first human
survivor and the first successful canine rabies program executed at a
broad level. Rabies remains the most important viral zoonosis, with tens
of thousands of human fatalities and tens of millions of exposures
annually, which can be used to model for other pathogens, such as
COVID-19. There is an international effort to eliminate human rabies
caused by dogs over the next decade, and the Americas represent the
primary region with the greatest proof-of-concept evidence to accomplish
this goal.
This two-volume set addresses the medical history and modern results of
rabies in countries throughout the Americas, including the implications
of and on cultural, economic, sociological, and research developments in
the region. Volume I presents an overview of concepts critical to the
study of rabies in the region, including evolutionary aspects, reservoir
ecology and control, elimination efforts, vaccine development, and
disease hallmarks and progression. It also analyzes the long-term
cultural, social, and economic impacts of the disease in the Americas.