I understand that rabies treatment promptly after the bite ( "post-exposure prophylaxis" ) has a very good track record. (1)

But if you leave it until symptoms start, it's pretty much a death sentence. A terrible, agonising death, too. (2)

There are also vaccines, that can be taken pre-exposure. What I did not know is that they date back to 1885 (3)

1:

> Existing vaccine regimens for rabies PEP are close to 100% effective and WHO-prequalified vaccines are highly effective. The expected number of rabies deaths in patients receiving PEP after a confirmed rabies exposure is fortunately extremely low.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X1...

2:

> As of 2016, only fourteen people had survived a rabies infection after showing symptoms. Rabies causes about 56,000 deaths worldwide per year

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabies

3: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabies_vaccine

If you're 80 in the USA, you're on Medicare. In the article you link, a Medicare patient paid $186 for treatment.

That's why capturing the animal and prompt testing is important. If you get treated/shots right away, your prognosis is good. If you wait until the disease starts to affect you, your chances go way down.

> If you wait until the disease starts to affect you, your chances go way down.

This is an understatement: "Rabies causes about 56,000 deaths worldwide per year. As of 2016, only fourteen people had survived a rabies infection after showing symptoms."