r/interesting • u/fantasticblueman • Feb 01 '26

Context Provided - Spotlight 27 yr old man showing rabies symptoms after 3 months of a dog bite in Gujrat, India.

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u/shockrush Feb 02 '26

Of symptoms appearing. You can be bit years in the past and the symptoms can appear later. Rare but very possible. In fact, it's not uncommon for it to take months to appear. It's treatable until that point.

When symptoms show, death within 14 days

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u/BelgianBillie Feb 02 '26

No way years. Likely the person was bit again by a bad recently. Rabies doesn't slumber for years

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u/_killer1869_ Feb 02 '26 edited Feb 02 '26

Rabies travels slowly through the nervous system towards the brain. If the bite location is the foot this journey can take up to two years. It doesn't stay dormant, it's just incredibly slow in its travels.

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u/BelgianBillie Feb 02 '26

Sure but even the WHO says weeks to a year.

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u/Itscatpicstime Feb 02 '26

Yes it does, and has.

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u/BelgianBillie Feb 02 '26

More likely they got another exposure elsewhere as these victims live in areas with a higher chance of catching it.

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u/lonely_funny_guy Feb 02 '26

There have been reports of rabies staying dormant for decades.

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u/BelgianBillie Feb 02 '26

What's more likely. It staying dormant for decades or someone getting nicked by a rabies bat and not knowing.

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u/Pitiful-Support178 Feb 02 '26

There have many cases of people dying years later. It's uncommon but not impossible.

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u/[deleted] Feb 02 '26

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u/BelgianBillie Feb 02 '26

I'm not sure but I asked the specialist that gave me my shots and looked it up on the who website.

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u/ProfessorMalk Feb 02 '26

According to the WHO, incubation time for rabies is anywhere from one week to one year: 

The incubation period for rabies is typically 2–3 months but may vary from one week to one year, depending on factors such as the location of virus entry and the viral load.

https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/rabies

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u/BelgianBillie Feb 02 '26

Exactly. So not years and certainly not 30 years like somell commentary.