Rabies Revealed: Virus, Diagnosis, and Disease (Online CE Course)

Continuing Education Credits

P.A.C.E.® Contact Hours (acceptable for AMT, ASCP, and state recertification): 1 hour(s) Approved through 10/31/2028

Florida Board of Clinical Laboratory Personnel Credit Hours - General (Serology/Immunology): 1 hour(s) Approved through 10/31/2028

Objectives

• Describe the life cycle, classification, structure, and means of replication of the rabies virus.
• Trace the progression of rabies virus transmission from the infected host to central nervous system infection in the new host.
• Compare initial signs of symptoms of rabies with the inevitable central nervous system signs, and correlate optimum steps and timing of post-exposure treatment.
• Identify available rabies diagnostic tests, distinguish those used to confirm versus exclude infection, and recognize the gold-standard methods.
• Distinguish the main transmitters of rabies in the United States from those in other countries.
• Correlate the structure of the rabies virus with some of its mechanisms to evade the immune system.

Course Outline

• Introduction
• The Terrible Truth About Rabies
• Biology of Rabies Virus
• What does the genome of rabies virus consist of?
• What is the approximate fatality rate once rabies reaches the central nervous system and clinical symptoms develop?
• Epidemiology, Life Cycle, and Transmission
• Epidemiology
• Life Cycle within a Human Host
• What is the status of rabies in the United States?
• Once a human or animal has been bitten, the rabies virus can replicate in muscle tissue and then, after a period of time, invade the central nervous s...
• Pathogenesis
• Initial Signs and Symptoms
• Central Nervous System Symptoms
• What is the approximate incubation period for rabies?
• Which of the following is a CNS symptom not observed in animals infected with rabies?
• Rabies Testing
• Introduction to Rabies Testing
• Antemortem Testing in Humans
• Postmortem Testing in Animals and Humans
• Direct Fluorescent Antibody Test
• Direct Rapid Immunohistochemistry Test
• Real-Time Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction Test
• Immunohistochemistry Test
• Histologic Examination
• Serological Testing During Prophylactic Treatment
• Specimen Submission to the CDC Laboratories
• Which of the following specimens is not acceptable for human antemortem testing?
• True or False: A gold-standard test is required to confirm a positive rabies test.
• Which test gives accurate results on rabies testing of decomposed or formalin-fixed brain tissue?
• In a routine histological exam of rabies-positive brain tissue, what are the eosinophilic inclusion bodies in neuronal cells infected with rabies call...
• Prevention, Treatment, and Control
• Recommendations for Prevention in Humans
• Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis
• Post-Exposure Treatment
• Rabies Surveillance in the U.S.
• Control of Rabies in Wildlife in the U.S.
• Which group of people is at the greatest risk for rabies infection in the United States?
• Which group of people is least likely to require rabies human immunoglobulin injections after exposure to a rabid animal?
• Which of the following potential rabies carriers is currently found in all of the United States except Hawaii?
• Selected Cases of Rabies
• Introduction to Rabies Cases
• Case #1
• Further Discussion of Case #1: Rabies Immune Evasion and Subversion
• Case #2
• Further Discussion of Case #2
• Which of the following is not a characteristic that is relatively unique to rabies virus infection?
• Which animal is currently responsible for the most human rabies deaths in the U.S.?
• References
• References

Additional Information