Rabies infection recognized as a psychosis: A misleading psychiatric presentation

Abstract

Rabies is a viral infection with a high mortality rate. Typical symptoms of rabies include hydrophobia, aerophobia, pharyngeal muscle spasms, and progressive paralysis. Psychiatric symptoms induced by rabies are not common. We report the case of a 26-year-old man in whom a quite typical clinical presentation of a brief psychotic disorder revealed rabies encephalitis.