Though rabies has been documented since before the birth of Christ, the recent deaths from rabies of four people in the United States, who had received transplanted organs from a man infected but not actively suffering from the disease, show that the rabies continues to be a virulent and silent killer of people. Scientists speculate that rabies first appeared in Africa or Asia as five other viruses related to rabies are isolated there. As early as 2,300 B.C. there were laws in Babylonia that required the owner of a rabid dog to pay a fine if the dog bit someone. Writings have been found in Greece in the fifth and fourth centuries B.C. that described rabies in domestic animals as well as dogs. There are accounts of rabies epidemics in wolves in western Europe in 1271 and it is believed that rabies was brought to the New World in 1753 when dogs brought to the Virginia colony were found to be infected. In 1998, there were from 30,000 to 50,000 deaths worldwide from rabies, but......
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