From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishrabiesra‧bies /ˈreɪbiːz/ noun [uncountable] MIa very dangerous disease that affects dogs and other animals, and that you can catch if you are bitten by an infected animal → rabidGRAMMAR: Singular or plural verb?Rabies is followed by a singular verb: Rabies is almost always fatal if not treated early.
Examples from the Corpus
rabies• Oxfordshire has never suffered a rabies case.• Also patron of hunters and rabies sufferers.• If vets can get close enough, they could test the animal for rabies.• We will not accept any weakening of our rabies prevention safeguards.• Unfortunately, the very live bat bit back, and Osbourne underwent a painful series of precautionary rabies injections.• But the bear might have transmitted the rabies virus.• Next to Billy was little Paul Lazzaro with a broken arm. he was fizzing with rabies.Origin rabies (1500-1600) Latin → RAGE1 