Final answer:
Cattle with clinical rabies are expected to die within a week of clinical onset due to the rapid progression of the rabies virus to the central nervous system. Post-exposure vaccination is critical for preventing neurological symptoms, which are nearly always fatal.
Step-by-step explanation:
Cattle with clinical rabies would be expected to die within a week of clinical onset. Once the rabies virus reaches the brain, it causes fatal neurological degeneration. The course of rabies in cattle is swift and progressive, leading to death shortly after symptoms appear. Non-fatal outcomes for rabies are extremely rare, as there are only palliative treatments available to ease the animal's suffering once symptoms manifest.
Rabies has a typically swift progression after the onset of symptoms. Understanding the timeline of the disease is essential in animals and humans alike, particularly because pre-exposure vaccination is crucial. It takes approximately a week for the rabies virus to travel from the point of infection to the central nervous system, at which stage clinical symptoms start to manifest. Once an individual or animal starts displaying symptoms, the prognosis is poor, usually resulting in fatality within days.
It is essential to take immediate action if one suspects exposure to rabies, as vaccination after exposure and before the onset of symptoms can effectively prevent the disease; once symptoms manifest, it is nearly always terminal. For cattle, like other mammals, clinical rabies results in a rapid decline, and death occurs shortly after the appearance of symptoms.