Rabies has been the main plot device or a significant theme in many fictional works. Due to the long history of the virus as well as its neurotropic nature, rabies has been a potent symbol of madness, irrationalism, or an unstoppable plague in numerous fictional works, in many genres. [1] [2] [3] [4] Many notable examples are listed below.
(Chronological, then alphabetical within years)
(Alphabetical, by first author's surname)
(Alphabetical, by series title) Many television series have dedicated at least one episode to storylines involving rabies infected entities.
I Am Legend is a 1954 post-apocalyptic horror novel by American writer Richard Matheson that was influential in the modern development of zombie and vampire literature and in popularizing the concept of a worldwide apocalypse due to disease. The novel was a success and was adapted into the films The Last Man on Earth (1964), The Omega Man (1971), and I Am Legend (2007). It was also an inspiration for George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead (1968).
Cujo is a 1981 horror novel by American writer Stephen King about a rabid Saint Bernard. The novel won the British Fantasy Award in 1982 and was made into a film in 1983.
A dog bite is a bite upon a person or other animal by a dog, including from a rabid dog. More than one successive bite is often called a dog attack, although dog attacks can include knock-downs and scratches. Though some dog bites do not result in injury, they can result in infection, disfigurement, temporary or permanent disability, or death. Another type of dog bite is the "soft bite" displayed by well-trained dogs, by puppies, and in non-aggressive play. Dog bites can occur during dog fighting, as a response to mistreatment, by trained dogs working as guard, police or military animals, or during a random encounter.
Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey is a novel by Chuck Palahniuk released on May 1, 2007. Palahniuk has indicated that Rant is the first in what will become a three-book series.
Zombie apocalypse is a subgenre of apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction in which society collapses due to overwhelming swarms of zombies. Typically only a few individuals or small bands of survivors are left living. In some versions, the reason the dead rise and attack humans is unknown, in others, a parasite or infection is the cause, framing events much like a plague. Some stories have every corpse rise, regardless of the cause of death, whereas others require exposure to the infection.
Quarantine is a 2008 found footage horror film directed and co-written by John Erick Dowdle, produced by Sergio Aguero, Doug Davison, and Roy Lee, and co-written by Drew Dowdle, being a remake of the 2007 Spanish film Rec. The film stars Jennifer Carpenter, Jay Hernandez, Columbus Short, Greg Germann, Steve Harris, Dania Ramirez, Rade Šerbedžija, and Johnathon Schaech. It follows a reporter and her cameraman assigned to a pair of Los Angeles firemen who follow a distress call to an apartment building where they discover a deadly mutated strain of rabies spreading among the building's occupants; escape becomes impossible once the government descends upon the building to prevent the virus from spreading beyond it, and the pair continue to record the events that unfold inside, of which the film itself is the result. Quarantine features no actual musical score, using only sound effects, and differs in its characters, dialogue, and explanation of the virus from its source material.
Rabies is a viral disease that causes encephalitis in humans and other mammals. It was historically referred to as hydrophobia due to the symptom of panic when presented with liquids to drink. Early symptoms can include fever and abnormal sensations at the site of exposure. These symptoms are followed by one or more of the following symptoms: nausea, vomiting, violent movements, uncontrolled excitement, fear of water, an inability to move parts of the body, confusion, and loss of consciousness. Once symptoms appear, the result is virtually always death, regardless of treatment. The time period between contracting the disease and the start of symptoms is usually one to three months but can vary from less than one week to more than one year. The time depends on the distance the virus must travel along peripheral nerves to reach the central nervous system.
Almost all human deaths caused by rabies occur in Asia and Africa.
In animals, rabies is a viral zoonotic neuroinvasive disease which causes inflammation in the brain and is usually fatal. Rabies, caused by the rabies virus, primarily infects mammals. In the laboratory it has been found that birds can be infected, as well as cell cultures from birds, reptiles and insects. The brains of animals with rabies deteriorate. As a result, they tend to behave bizarrely and often aggressively, increasing the chances that they will bite another animal or a person and transmit the disease.
"Epidemiology" is the sixth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series Community, and the 31st episode of the series overall. It originally premiered in the United States on NBC on October 28, 2010 as a special Halloween-themed episode. In the episode, the Dean throws a Halloween themed party on campus. During the party, a few of the partygoers become sick from eating a hazardous substance that the Dean mistook for taco meat bought at an army surplus store. The sickness causes those affected to turn into a violent, zombie-like state that can be passed on through bites. As the study group try to escape, the Dean locks the doors, trapping them inside with the infected.
Quarantine 2: Terminal is a 2011 American horror film and a sequel to the 2008 film, Quarantine. It was written and directed by John Pogue and produced by Marc Brienstock. The film stars Mercedes Mason, Josh Cooke and Mattie Liptak as passengers on an airplane where the mutant rabies virus from the previous film is now spreading, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing at a terminal that is promptly surrounded by the government, trapping the passengers and crew as they search for answers and a means of escape.
Jessicka Rabid is a 2010 American horror film directed by Matthew Reel about an inbred, intellectually disabled girl who contracts rabies from a dog bite after years of being treated like a dog by her abusive, incestuous white trash family. A sequel, titled Jessicka Rabid 2: Infected, was slated for a 2014 release, however as of 2023, nothing has materialized and there have been no further announcements.
Extinction is a 2015 post-apocalyptic horror film directed by Miguel Ángel Vivas who also co-wrote the screenplay with Alberto Marini from the novel Y pese a todo by Juan de Dios Garduño. The film stars Matthew Fox, Jeffrey Donovan and Quinn McColgan. In a post-apocalypse future, three survivors confront issues from their past, as well as a race of crazed zombies. The film was released on July 31, 2015, in the United States. It is a joint-production between Spain, Hungary and France.
Z Nation is an American horror television series that aired on Syfy, created by Karl Schaefer and Craig Engler, and was produced by The Asylum. The first season of 13 episodes premiered on September 12, 2014. Z Nation was filmed in the Spokane, Washington, area.
Pierre-Victor or Pierre Victor Galtier was a veterinarian and professor at the National Veterinary School of Lyon, specialising in pathology of infectious diseases, health surveillance and commercial and medical legislation. He developed a rabies vaccine which had some experimental success in laboratory animals.
Rabies is a viral disease that exists in Haiti and throughout the world. It often causes fatal inflammation of the brain in humans and other mammals, such as dogs and mongooses in Haiti. The term "rabies" is derived from a Latin word that means "to rage"; rabid animals sometimes appear to be angry. Early symptoms can include fever and tingling at the site of exposure, followed by one or more of the following symptoms: violent movements, uncontrolled excitement, fear of water, an inability to move parts of the body, confusion, and loss of consciousness. Once symptoms appear, death is nearly always the outcome. The time period between contracting the disease and showing symptoms is usually one to three months; however, this time period can vary from less than a week to more than a year. The time between contraction and the onset of symptoms is dependent on the distance the virus must travel to reach the central nervous system.
Cat bites are bites inflicted upon humans, other cats, and other animals by the domestic cat. Data from the United States show that cat bites represent between 5–15% of all animal bites inflicted to humans, but it has been argued that this figure could be the consequence of under-reporting as bites made by Felis catus are considered by some to be unimportant. Though uncommon, cat bites can sometimes cause rabies lead to complications and, very rarely, death.
Cargo is a 2017 Australian post-apocalyptic horror drama film directed by Ben Howling and Yolanda Ramke with a screenplay by Ramke based on their 2013 short film of the same name. The film stars Martin Freeman, Simone Landers, Anthony Hayes, David Gulpilil, Susie Porter, and Caren Pistorius. It follows a couple and their baby travelling in remote Australia amid a deadly disease outbreak. It premiered at the Adelaide Film Festival on 6 October 2017 and was released in cinemas in Australia on 17 May 2018, worldwide except for Australia on 18 May 2018 by Netflix and on Netflix in Australia on 16 November 2018.
The Sarawak rabies outbreak is an ongoing rabies outbreak in the state of Sarawak in Malaysia. Until 6 December 2022, 49 confirmed rabies cases and 44 deaths have been reported.