While rabies kills tens of thousands of people in Asia, Africa and Latin America, it is rare in developed countries. Even if Jeanna's treatment proves successful in a second patient, it is not clear how widely it could be used in poorer parts of the world, since it requires an intensive care unit, with all its high technology. Still, Dr. Willoughby said he expected Jeanna to make a good recovery. She is already responding perfectly to questions by pointing to a message board or nodding her head.

Her father, John Giese, said he was grateful to the doctors and their novel treatment, but added that prayer had made the crucial difference.

"The day after we found out, I called on everyone we knew for prayer," he told The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel this week. "We believe a lot of that snowballed and it really made a difference."