[CME: Rabies Update: Symptoms, Diagnostics and Therapy].

Rabies is one of the oldest known infectious diseases and certainly one of the most feared because of its impressive course. Despite continuous improvement in medical treatment, the disease continues to be almost always fatal after onset of symptoms. Due to urbanization, rabies has lately somewhat disappeared from the public focus in Central Europe. Because of the remaining high number of fatal cases due to rabies infection worldwide and the persistent risk of contagion on holiday or within Switzerland, e.g. due to illegal import of infected animals, the disease is becoming a frequent topic in the media again.