La rage : nouveaux aspects d'une vieille maladie

Rabies is a zoonotic disease that has been known for centuries. Canine rabies is still responsible for 50,000 deaths in the world. Selvatic rabies has been decreasing only in Europe and new Lyssaviruses have been identified recently in chiropters in many areas. Modern vaccines and immunoglobulins that are both safe and efficacious have been used for decades, but their cost is currently a limit for postexposure treatment against rabies in developing areas. Meanwhile, recent transmission of rabies by tissue or organ transplantation, survival of a person exposed to a bat Lyssavirus, and appearance of atypical forms of the disease constitute new diagnostic as well as therapeutic challenges.