The first person to survive rabies without receiving a vaccination after infection has just left hospital. The 15-year-old girl, who was bitten by a rabid bat in September, still has much speech, physical and occupational therapy to undergo in the coming months, but will probably be able to resume her schooling soon.

The treatment protocol has yet to be published, but because the medications used are commonly available, the doctors at the Medical College of Wisconsin are hoping that this treatment could be useful for developing nations, where rabies is much more common (and treatment may not be as prompt).

Even though rabies is easily treatable with the vaccine, it’s nice to know that, untreated it may not be the automatic death sentence it always has been.