Human Rabies Cases: How It Kills and Who Survived

Human Rabies Cases: How It Kills and Who Survived

From REDRUM true crime by redrumpodcast

April 9, 2026 · 33 min · Episode 297

About this episode

This episode explores the deadly effects of rabies through the cases of Yvonne Ford and Jeanna Giese, highlighting transmission, symptoms, and survival.

Rabies is one of the deadliest viruses on Earth, with a fatality rate that is almost 100% once symptoms begin, a disease that can lie dormant for weeks or even months before suddenly, and violently, taking over the brain, leaving doctors with almost no way to stop what comes next. In this episode, we explore the real-life case of Yvonne Ford, a 59 year old grandmother from Barnsley, whose life changed after what seemed like nothing more than a minor scratch from a puppy while on holiday, an injury so small it didn’t even bleed. Months later she developed devastating neurological symptoms that would escalate rapidly, leading to her death in just a matter of days. But her story is only one side of rabies. Because in extremely rare cases, the outcome is different. We also examine the case of Jeanna Giese, a teenager from Wisconsin who became the first person ever known to survive rabies after symptoms had already begun, a case that challenged everything the medical world thought it knew about the virus, and led to the development of an experimental treatment known as the Milwaukee Protocol. Through these two cases, Grace breaks down how rabies is transmitted, why even the smallest…

People in this episode

Host: Grace

Topics covered

  • rabies
  • neurological symptoms
  • survival cases
  • transmission
  • medical treatment

Keywords

  • rabies
  • Yvonne Ford
  • Jeanna Giese
  • Milwaukee Protocol
  • neurological symptoms
  • transmission
  • survival

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Barnsley, Wisconsin

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