RESEARCHERS DEVELOP NEW RABIES TREATMENT.

Treating rabies can be a race against the clock. Those who suffer a bite from a rabid animal have a brief window of time to seek medical help before the virus takes root in the central nervous system, at which point the disease is almost invariably fatal. Now, researchers have successfully tested a treatment on mice that cures the disease even after the virus has spread to the brain. The best way to deal with rabies right now is simple: Don't get rabies said study co-author Biao He, a professor of infectious diseases in the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine. The vaccines that are available can prevent the disease, and the same vaccine is used as a kind of treatment after a bite, but it only works if the virus hasn't progressed too far. There is a new treatment now, a new vaccine has been developed that rescues mice much longer after infection than what was traditionally thought possible. In experiments, the animals were exposed to a strain of the rabies virus that generally reaches the brain of infected mice within three days. By day six, mice begin to exhibit the tell-tale physical symptoms that indicate the infection has become fatal. However, 50 percent of mice treated with the new vaccine were saved, even after the onset of physical symptoms on day six. There is an urgent need in many parts of the world for a better rabies treatment, and we think this technology may serve as an excellent platform . (source ;science daily)