Rabies is an acute viral disease of the central nervous system that affects humans and other mammals but is most common in carnivores (flesh-eaters). It is sometimes referred to as a zoonosis, or disease of animals that can be communicated to humans.oonosis — Any disease of animals that can be transmitted to humans. Rabies is an example of a zoonosis. As of October 2004, the medical community awaits the publication of findings by the doctors that administered a life-saving treatment that cured a Wisconsin teenager of full-blown rabies.