Flightless Bird

Rabies

Episode Summary

In this week’s Flightless Bird, David Farrier gets bitten by a squirrel, forcing him to come face-to-face with his greatest nightmare: Rabies. Why does this virus have a near 100% mortality rate, and how are you meant to be treated for it? David joins the 60,000 Americans who find themselves having to reckon with the risk of rabies every year, whether they are bitten by dogs, raccoons, bats… or in David’s case, a squirrel. To learn more, David meets fellow victims Courtney and Paul, who all had to have jabs in their arms, legs and butts! David discovers that American emergency rooms can be very expensive, and that rabies makes you terrified of water! For more on his rabies encounter, see Farrier’s newsletter Webworm: https://www.webworm.co/p/rabies