The catastrophe of rabies encephalitis: A case series

Abstract

Rabies is one of humankind’s oldest and most fatal zoonotic diseases. Few cases of survival post rabies infection have been documented so far. Due to its rapid course of progression, patients succumb before acquiring magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). However, in cases where MRI is feasible, the latter is a valuable source of information that aids in antemortem confirmation of diagnosis when backed by clinical data. We present two cases of rabies encephalitis, with classic imaging features on MRI. Symmetrical involvement of the basal ganglia, mesial temporal lobes, and dorsal portion of the brainstem should raise a suspicion of rabies encephalitis in the proper clinical situation.