Season 14 • Episode 1107

The Rabies Episode

Episode Description

About this episode:

According to the CDC, rabies cases are on the rise nationwide. This aggressive RNA virus, primarily transmitted through biting, can infect any mammal—including household pets and humans—with horrific and fatal consequences. In this episode: Veterinarians Meghan Davis and Monica Murphy discuss how to identify a rabid animal, why preventing infection is critical to saving lives, and the fascinating cultural history of rabies with ties to werewolves, vampires, and zombies.

Guest:

Meghan Davis, PhD, MPH, DVM, is a veterinarian and chair of the Master of Public Health program at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Monica Murphy, MPH, DVM, is a veterinarian and author of the book "Rabid: A Cultural History of the World's Most Diabolical Virus."

Host:

Stephanie Desmon, MA, is a former journalist, author, and the director of public relations and communications for the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs.

Show links and related content:

Rabid: A Cultural History of the World's Most Diabolical Virus—Penguin Random House
Disease experts urge safe animal practices amid 'unusual' rabid beaver attacks—Maryland Matters
Nationwide Increase in Reported Human Rabies Exposures: Rabies Post-exposure Prophylaxis Administration—CDC
Stopping Dog Bites Helps Stop Rabies—Johns Hopkins Center for Communications Programs
Why We Vaccinate Our Dogs and Cats—Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Transcript information:

Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel. You can also email PublicHealthQuestion@jhu.edu to request a transcript.

AI disclosure (as of September 2026):

The conversations you hear on the podcast are happening between real humans, and real humans are developing and researching episodes behind the scenes. In addition to real human audio engineers, Public Health On Call uses AI production tools to assist with the removal of filler words and improve audio quality. If you have any questions about our use of AI, please reach out to PublicHealthQuestion@jhu.edu.

Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website.