COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- South Carolina health officials are
hoping to raise awareness of efforts to wipe out rabies. The
state Department of Health and Environmental Control says that
Friday is World Rabies Day. State health officials say that
about 275 people a year in South Carolina are advised to get
preventive medical treatment after being exposed to rabid
animals. So far this year, DHEC says the number of people in the
state who have gotten such treatment is at 263. Officials say
the rabies virus travels slowly through the body until it
reaches the brain and central nervous system and produces
serious initial symptoms including headache, difficulty
swallowing, seizures, anxiety, agitation and confusion. Most
patients die within a few weeks after the onset of these
symptoms