What are the symptoms of rabies?

There are no signs of rabies during the incubation period and immediate post-exposure management is the only effective means of prevention after exposure to high-risk animals. The initial symptoms of rabies are fever and often pain at the wound site or an unusual, unexplained shivering, stabbing or burning sensation. As the virus spreads through the central nervous system, the patient develops the typical clinical signs of rabies, i.e. manic and paralytic, and eventually dies of asphyxia or respiratory and circulatory failure due to pharyngeal muscle spasms.