Rabies is an ancient disease, according to most historical records. According to most estimates, the earliest recorded description of this disease dates back to around 500 BC, attributed to Democritus. The “Natural History of Animals” by Aristotle described dogs suffering from madness, causing irritability.

Indian mythology mentions dogs as emissaries of death. These records date back to approximately 3000 BC. There is a mention of a rabies-like infection in the Mosaic Esmuna Code of Babylon, dating back to around 2300 B.C., according to some written records. The Babylonians were subject to fines if their dogs bit humans.

In recent years, some unconventional cures have surfaced in North America. The use of Madstones (calcified hairballs) found in the stomachs of cows, goats, and deer was proposed. Interestingly, without any scientific backing, this cure was believed to have cured Abraham Lincoln’s son of rabies.

Rabies has been mentioned in the writings of a vast academic community throughout the millennia.

Research sources that have proposed alternative explanations for the causation of rabies, which are now deemed misleading (such as spontaneous generation), have been intentionally excluded from consideration. Additionally, no relevant sources from Ancient China, India, pre-Columbian America, or Africa could be identified or accessed. However, to this date, a howling dog in India is considered to signify death (A History of Rabies, n.d.).