Lyssaviruses are the etiological agents of rabies, one of the oldest documented and feared maladies in medical history. The last century has been particularly fruitful in regard to progress in Iyssavirus phylogenetic affinities, diagnostics, pathogenesis, molecular virology and epidemiology, pro phylaxis and control. Yet, despite these academic and practical advances in research, the age-old horror evoked by rabies is still very real, with only four documented human recoveries once symptoms are realized. After decades of intense scrutiny and four recent books describing rabies and its viral relatives, there is still much to be learned. The great authority on rabies, Karl Habel, once related an incident of a very distraught elderly woman, who showed symptoms of neurological disease. She told Habel, "I don't need a physician. I know I have rabies. My beloved dog had rabies and died. Look", she exclaimed, while flinging down a goblet of water, "I have hydrophobia". Habel asked for her confinement for psychiatric examination.

List of Contents

Rationale and Prospects for Rabies Elimination in Developing Countries
Functional Aspects of Lyssavirus Proteins
Reproduction of Lyssaviruses: Ultrastructural Composition of Lyssavirus and Functional Aspects of Pathogenesis
The Molecular Basis for Altered Pathogenicity of Lyssavirus Variants
Animal Models of Rabies Virus Neurovirulence
The Pathogenesis of Rabies and Other Lyssaviral Infections: Recent Studies
Human Rabies: Clinical Aspects, Pathogenesis, and Potential Therapy
Immunobiology of Lyssaviruses: The Basis for Immunoprotection
Immunoprotection by Rabies Virus Nucleoprotein
Current and Future Immunoprophylaxis Against Human Rabies: Reduction of Treatment Failures and Errors
Production of Human Monoclonal Antibodies Against Rabies Virus
Bat Lyssaviruses in Europe
Oral Wildlife Rabies Vaccination Field Trials in Europe, with Recent Emphasis on France
Oral Rabies Immunization of Wildlife and Dogs: Challenges to the Americas
The Biology of Southern African Lyssavirus Variants
Rabies Epidemiology: Some Ecological and Evolutionary Perspectives
Beyond Pasteur to 2001: Future Trends in Lyssavirus Research?.