Rabies is almost always fatal once symptoms appear, but there have been rare instances of survival. Let’s talk about some of these rabies survivors.
How Many Rabies Survivors Are There Worldwide?
As of 2024, there have been 30 reported survivors of rabies globally, with 18 cases of rabies survival occurring in India. Most of these survivors had received some form of post-exposure treatment after being bitten by a rabid animal. However, they still contracted the disease because they did not complete the full cycle of shots.
Completing the series of post-exposure vaccinations is mandatory to prevent rabies from developing after a bite. Unfortunately, access to consistent medical care can be challenging, particularly in rural areas, leading to incomplete treatment and eventual infection.
How Many Rabies Survivors Are There in the United States?
In the United States, there have been five reported survivors of rabies. Out of these, two had received some form of pre-exposure or post-exposure treatment, but the other three did not.
Who Survived Rabies Without Getting Rabies Shots?
- The First Rabies Survivor: A 15-Year-Old Girl from Wisconsin This case is the most well-known. The patient became the first recorded survivor of symptomatic rabies after doctors developed a new treatment called the Milwaukee Protocol. The protocol involves placing the patient into a medically induced coma and treating them with antiviral medications, along with other supportive treatments like nutritional support and insulin. The theory behind the Milwaukee Protocol is that it allows the body to “ride out” the infection without succumbing to it. Despite its initial success, the treatment has been controversial because it costs approximately $800,000 and the success rate is incredibly low. Since its introduction, nearly 40 patients have undergone the protocol as it was originally developed, but only the first patient survived.
- The Second Rabies Survivor: A 17-Year-Old Girl from Texas Unlike the first case, this patient did not receive the Milwaukee Protocol. Instead, she was given supportive care, which typically involves managing symptoms of rabies with medications such as ketamine, opiates, barbiturates, and anti-anxiety drugs. The goal of supportive care is not to cure rabies but to alleviate suffering. Surprisingly, this patient survived without aggressive, experimental treatment.
- The Third Rabies Survivor: An 8-Year-Old Girl from California The third case involved a young girl who received a modified version of the Milwaukee Protocol. With this variation of the initial Milwaukee Protocol, she managed to survive rabies.
Why Hasn’t the Milwaukee Protocol Been Widely Used?
The Milwaukee Protocol has not been widely used for treatment of rabies mainly due to the lack of evidence of its success, the cost, and the ethical concerns of using the protocol.
Why Did These Three Patients Survive Rabies?
Honestly, medical professionals and scientists have no clue how these three people managed to survive rabies. There are a few theories, however.
First, It’s possible that these patients were infected with weaker or less aggressive strains of the rabies virus. However, this theory remains speculative because there is no way to test for specific variants. In order to confirm the presence of rabies, doctors would need to conduct tests that involve the brain tissue, which is not feasible without the ability to examine the infected animal or remove the head of the living human survivor.
Another theory is that these patients were not infected with rabies at all, but rather with an undiscovered species of lyssavirus, a family of viruses that causes the disease rabies and includes the virus species Rabies lyssavirus. Since we cannot confirm the exact strain or species, there’s a possibility that they survived due to being infected with a less deadly species of lyssavirus.
Finally, there may have been unique, unknown factors in the treatment process or the patients’ immune response that led to their survival. These variables make it difficult to draw definitive conclusions about the treatment protocols used.
Could Understanding Rabies Variants Lead to Better Treatments?
Researching the different strains of rabies and understanding how they affect the body could lead to better treatments. If scientists were able to develop tests to identify specific rabies variants, it might be possible to tailor treatments, such as the Milwaukee Protocol, to these strains and improve the chances of survival. However, this would require more research, resources, and cooperation across the global medical community.
