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Vaccination given after a bite from a rabid animal can still save the patient because of what?
ARabies virus cannot enter nerve tissue
BRabies virus is killed by stomach acid
CRabies virus has a very low mutation rate
DReaching the nervous system takes weeks
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: D. Reaching the nervous system takes weeks
1. Rabies is a fatal neurological disease carried in the saliva of infected animals.
2. Progression from the bite to the point where the virus enters the central nervous system may take 2 weeks or longer.
3. That gap is long enough to vaccinate someone who suspects a rabid bite.
4. The boosted immune response then stops the virus before it reaches nervous tissue.
5. Rabies virus does enter nerve tissue if it is not stopped, so the first option contradicts the disease itself.
_Source: OpenStax Biology (1st ed., CC BY 4.0), Ch 21 "Viruses", section 21.3 Prevention and Treatment of Viral Infections_
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