Can people survive rabies? Some vampire bat victims may have

Actually, from what I've read in the past, most people exposed to rabies do not get it. If they do show symptoms, that is when it is almost invariably fatal. Species vary in their susceptibility. The dog family is one of the more susceptible.

http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/01/13071376-can-people-survive-rabies-some-vampire-bat-victims-may-have?lite

Some Amazonian villagers plagued by vampire bats may have survived rabies infections — something that doctors thought was virtually impossible. The scientists' discovery opens hopes of eventually developing an effective treatment for the nearly always fatal infection.

A study of people living in remote areas of Peru shows that about one in 10 appears to have been bitten by rabid bats, but lived to tell the tale. Rabies is almost universally fatal, with only five documented cases of people surviving. Teams at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are now looking further to see if people may survive the deadly virus more often than had been believed.

CDC’s Brett Petersen, an epidemiologist who worked on the study. What’s not clear is whether the people who survived infection ever actually got sick.

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More than half said they had been bitten by a bat at least once and 20 percent said they were bitten more than once a year. The blood tests showed something startling -- seven people, or 11 percent of those tested, had antibodies against rabies. These immune system proteins were the type that can neutralize a virus.