Comparing Two Viewpoints about Rabies: TEBBE-AKBARI (Persian Medicine Book) and National Guidelines for Rabies Control

Background and Rabies is a viral disease that is usually transferred to humans through the bites of infected animals (especially dogs). Difficult treatment and painful death in all patients makes it a major public health concern. There are some interesting points about the rabies in Traditional Medicine resources, especially in Persian Medicine. In this study the book entitled Tebbe Akbari was used as an invaluable source of Persian Traditional Medicine which is a complete and practical collection about many diseases. The information about rabies was extracted from the book. Also, the latest version of National Guidelines for Rabies Control was used. Data from both sources were compared with each other including etiology, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment. Almost all points about rabies in Tebbe Akbari were found similar to the national guidelines recommended for rabies control. However, recent improvements in treatment, especially vaccination and microscopic methods in diagnosis of the disease have led to stop using traditional diagnostic methods. Probably more knowledge and awareness about traditional medicine books and performing evidence based studies could help in finding more simple and less expensive diagnostic methods.