One major attribute of madness, especially in humans, is the tendency of mad people to “bite”. Yes! I mean the real use of teeth to inflict bodily injuries on the victim. Dogs are known to bite naturally, but a sane dog knows just when to use its weapon of defense and offence, which is its canine dentition. When your pet begins to bite at anything uncontrollably, particularly at any slight movement or provocation, then you need to call the attention of a veterinarian or an animal control unit.

WHAT’S THIS MADNESS CALLED?
Madness is a broad term, and more suitably used with humans. But the term, as used in animals, has been described by different authors, one of which is Laurel Braitman’s ‘Animal Madness: How Anxious Dogs, Compulsive Parrots and Elephants in Recovery Help Us Understand Ourselves’. In this context, focus is placed on animal madness commonly referred to as “RABIES”. Rabies is a highly fatal and acute disease of animals and man. It is a zoonotic disease, meaning it is transferable from animals to man and vice-versa. It has been given some local nomenclatures based on dialects in Nigeria, such as;
Gwon haukan kare (Hausa)
Oga Imu (Igbo)
Digbolugi (Yoruba), and so on.
Rabies is an endemic disease in Nigeria. Apart from being widely distributed around the world, more than 55,000 people die of rabies, especially in Asia and Africa, every year. One of the recent cases of this condition was reported in Gambia where a former president of a country lost his son to a bite from a ‘mad’ dog. As a result of an increase in the number of stray dogs due to the law forbidding the killing of dogs, India has the highest rate of human rabies in the world. From previous findings, dog bites have been attributed to cause approximately 97% of human rabies. Sadly, 50% of the deaths occur in children under 15 years of age. It is worthy to note that dogs are not the only animals that can transmit rabies, as well as, developing the symptoms too. Other animals such as cats, cattle, mongoose, monkeys, raccoons, bats and foxes also pose great threats to humans.

WHAT CAUSES MADNESS IN DOGS?
Rabies is caused by a bullet-shaped virus belonging to the Family Rhabdoviridae and of the Genus Lyssavirus. Infection of humans by rabies is usually through bite or scratch from an infected animal. The causative viral organism takes its course through the nerves of the central nervous system (CNS) from the point of introduction/entry (either via bite or scratch). From the CNS, the virus is dissipated in other organs of the body, with the salivary gland having the highest load for further spread of the disease.

HOW WILL YOU KNOW A ‘RABID’ DOG?
From the time of introduction of the virus into a susceptible host (animal), manifestation of signs is variable, most commonly dependent on the viral load from the carrier. Some of the physical signs you will see in a rabid dog includes;
-Restlessness
-Excessive salivation
-Hydrophobia (Fear of water- a very significant sign)
-Unprovoked biting of people, other animals, and moving objects.
-Alteration in voice
-Paralysis
-Death

Note that, these signs may not be visible in all cases of rabies. Some dogs may appear extremely quiet, with weird shy facial expressions, coupled with difficulty in eating. Therefore, dog owners must be extremely careful, especially once they noticed a dramatic change in their once energetic and friendly pets. Once a rabid dog exhibits the signs above, death of such dog is eminent within ten (10) days.

SYMPTOMS OF RABIES IN HUMAN PATIENTS
The earlier symptoms observable in humans are always flu-related. Some of these symptoms include;
-Fever
-Uncontrolled excitements
-Depression
-Headache
-Fatigue

Although, human rabies infection may not be fatal if post exposure prophylaxis is given to the victim before the onset of the symptoms above. But if not administered, paralysis sets in, then coma, and death, which is always as a result of respiratory failure.

The prevention and treatment of rabies in dogs, hence protecting humans, differs from one location to another. This can be as a result of various veterinary laws and regulations guiding pets and their owners in different parts of the world.

Author: Ogundijo Oluwaseun
Source: http://goldenstonenetwork.com/02/madness-in-dogs-written-by-dr-ogundijo-oluwaseun/