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Give me an in depth timeline & description of the history of Rabies
Hello!
Thanks for your question on timeline & description of the history of rabies. The most useful sources I found for answering your question are academic studies published by OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health), Science Direct, WHO etc.
OVERVIEW
The short version is that the very first record of a rabies-related disease affecting humans "is found in the Eshnunna cuneiform law tablets from ancient Mesopotamia, Middle East, dating back to the 18th-19th centuries BC". Rabies has spread throughout Europe during the medieval time eventually reaching many corners of the world including Africa, America and Asia in the era of European Colonialism.
Things changed when Pasteur demonstrated the "possibility of vaccinating dogs to prevent rabies infection and possible transmission to humans in 1885. This practice helped to reduce the prevalence of rabies in animals dramatically.
Despite this, currently, the "infection causes tens of thousands of deaths every year, mostly in Asia and Africa with 40% of people bitten by suspect rabid animals are children under 15 years of age".
Below you will find a deep dive of my research / findings along with all the details for how I came to this answer. In the resource section, you will find a list of sources with a wealth of additional information that you can find useful.
MEDITERRANEAN BASIN
One of the very first records of a rabies-related disease affecting humans "is found in the Eshnunna cuneiform law tablets from ancient Mesopotamia, Middle East, dating back to the 18th-19th centuries BC. Subsequent historic records from Greece, Rome, China and other ancient and contemporary cultures all across Eurasia have mentioned a disease transmitted to humans through contact with mad dogs".
In the ancient Greek world, rabies was frequently mentioned by various philosophers and scholars. While some claim of instances of rabies even in the time of Homer (ca. 8th Century B.C.), modern scholars suggest that probably rabies did not reach ancient Greece until 5th Century B.C.
"Hence the first attested appearance of the disease was in 4th Century B.C. and even then the more precise diagnosis is not recognizable until 1st Century B.C.".
Ancient doctors attempted various methods of treating the disease including the consumption of liver of chicken or some other animal. Later on, they used a mixed approach that persisted into the medieval time. Modern studies argue that "claims of success in “curing” the disease must have been at best economical with the truth or more likely faulty in the diagnosis of rabies".
Historians are divided "about whether or not rabies infections did actually occur in ancient Egypt". But in the 12th century, human rabies are becoming common in Egypt and famous doctors are tasked with finding the cure for the disease. Later on, at the end of the 19th century, rabies was a common disease in the urban centers of Alexandria and Cairo.
Similar situation was recorded in Syria. During the 9th century, people who were bitten by the dog were treated with honeyed water while even Sultan Saladin's own physician (Maimonides) "estimated the incubation period of rabies in humans to be at least seven days". The virus persisted in the Mediterranean Basin and in 1847 rabies appeared in Malta as well.
There are historical sources that confirm the presence of rabies in the Western Europe in 1st century AD as well as throughout the following centuries.
In 1546, "Fracastor stated that rabies was common in both Italy and France, often caused by wolf bites. He studied the disease closely and attributed it to germs (‘semina’) creeping slowly, which resemble organs such as nerves".
In addition to this, the historical records are making it clear that rabies was present in many other European countries such as Baltic states, Spain, UK, Ireland, Switzerland, Turkey and many others.
"In continental Europe, dogs and wolves were initially the greatest rabies threat, and in the 20th Century fox rabies became the most important challenge, before it was eradicated by oral vaccination".
AFRICA, AMERICA AND REST OF THE WORLD
While rabies was present in northern Africa for thousands of years, their existence in rest of this continent is a matter of debate. Some academic studies are claiming the presence of rabies in south Africa was first confirmed in the 1770s and 1880s while others are arguing that rabies were first confirmed in Kenya in 1912 with dogs as the principal animal reservoir for rabies.
Other studies described the outbreak of rabies around Bulawayo (Zimbabwe) in 1902 with reports indicating that older people of the area claimed to have witnessed similar disease even before the Europeans arrived. "The first authenticated outbreak of rabies in sub-Saharan Africa was confirmed in dogs in 1893 in Port Elizabeth, on the south-east coast of South Africa (53). Domestic dogs were the predominant species involved, with some cases reported in cats and cattle. The outbreak was traced to an Airedale terrier imported from England into Port Elizabeth in September 1892 (18). After the limited geographical spread of the outbreak, control measures, including the imposition of tie-up, leashing and muzzling orders and the destruction of unsupervised dogs, were implemented and the outbreak died out at the end of 1894".
When it comes to the North America, first rabies in dogs was recorded as early as 1753 in "the state of Virginia whilst the first major recorded outbreak in the United States of America (USA) occurred in Boston in 1768". Dog rabies was following the westward movement of migrants until it reached the west coast of the USA.
In the central and south America, rabies was unknown until the arrival of Conquistadores. "Dog rabies is suspected to have been present in Mexico since 1709 whilst records in South America date to the early 19th Century. Rabies was first reported in Peru in 1803 when it entered the country from the north and spread southwards, reaching the southern town of Arequipa by 1807. Dog rabies was introduced into Argentina in 1806 by sporting dogs owned by British soldiers. The disease invaded Uruguay in 1807, Colombia in 1810 and Chile in 1835; in each case dogs imported from Europe were implicated as the source. Since that time dog rabies has been endemic in most South American countries and remains a significant public health problem to this day. In the latter half of the 20th century particularly high numbers of cases were reported by Mexico and Brazil with Ecuador and Colombia reporting slightly lower numbers, although incidence based on human population levels are actually higher in other central American countries".
Finally, the record of rabies in China dates back to 556 B.C. "in Master Zuo's tradition of the spring and autumn annals". But the more systematic scientific investigation of the disease began "only after 1885, with Louis Pasteur's discovery of post-exposure vaccination against rabies". At least 108,412 people died of rabies from 1950 through 2004.
PREVENTION AND VACCINATION
Even in the ancient times, the owner of a dog with rabies' symptoms was required to prevent their dog from bitting other people.
As the science investigated this disease, so did the state introduce more strict legislation. In the 18th century, Germany, France and Spain passed the law ordering the destruction of stray dogs, "in an attempt to reduce the risk that a rabid dog may come into contact and bite a human in the region". Other measures such as quarantine and various health initiatives helped reduce the transmission of rabies to people and as a result of it, many "areas were considered to be free from the virus".
Things changed when Pasteur demonstrated the "possibility of vaccinating dogs to prevent rabies infection and possible transmission to humans in 1885. However, this was not routinely practiced until the 1920s, when domestic animal vaccination was developed and became widely used. This practice helped to reduce the prevalence of rabies in animals dramatically. Provided that the majority of domestic animals (70%) were vaccinated, the effect of rabies could essentially be eliminated from the region".
Despite this, currently, the "infection causes tens of thousands of deaths every year, mostly in Asia and Africa with 40% of people bitten by suspect rabid animals are children under 15 years of age. WHO, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Global Alliance for Rabies Control have set a global target of “zero human rabies deaths by 2030”.
SUMMARY
To conclude, the very first record of a rabies-related disease affecting humans "is found in the Eshnunna cuneiform law tablets from ancient Mesopotamia, Middle East, dating back to the 18th-19th centuries BC". Rabies has spread throughout Europe during the medieval time eventually reaching many corners of the world including Africa, America and Asia in the era of European Colonialism.
Things changed when Pasteur demonstrated the "possibility of vaccinating dogs to prevent rabies infection and possible transmission to humans in 1885. This practice helped to reduce the prevalence of rabies in animals dramatically.
Despite this, currently, the "infection causes tens of thousands of deaths every year, mostly in Asia and Africa with 40% of people bitten by suspect rabid animals are children under 15 years of age".
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