Rabies is a viral disease that attacks the central nervous system. Once symptoms appear it is nearly always fatal — but it is preventable with prompt medical care after an exposure.
The animals most often found with rabies in the United States. Image from CDC's page about rabies
If you may have been exposed
Get medical care urgently. Care after an exposure — post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) — is nearly 100% effective and must start as soon as possible:
- wound care;
- human rabies immune globulin (HRIG);
- a series of four or five rabies vaccines.
About 100,000 people in the United States are vaccinated against rabies each year after a possible exposure. Rabies kills fewer than 10 people a year in the United States — but it is found in wildlife everywhere in the country except Hawaii, so it remains a serious public health threat.
How it spreads and what it does
Rabies spreads mainly through the bites and scratches of an infected animal. The virus has to travel to the brain before it causes symptoms; this incubation period can last weeks to months.
| Stage | Symptoms |
|---|---|
| First | a flu-like illness — weakness or discomfort, fever, headache — and discomfort, prickling or itching at the bite |
| Severe, usually within 2 weeks of the first symptoms | anxiety, confusion, agitation, hallucinations; being very thirsty but panicked by fluids; lots of saliva; aggressive behavior such as thrashing and biting |
The animals that carry it
- In the United States, more than 90% of reported animal rabies cases are in wildlife — above all bats, raccoons, skunks and foxes.
- Nearly 3 in 4 Americans live in a community where animals carry rabies.
- Bats are the leading cause of U.S. rabies deaths: at least 7 in 10 people who die of rabies here were infected by bats.
- Dogs with rabies are uncommon in the United States thanks to prevention and control programs. Worldwide, dogs cause more than 95% of an estimated 70,000 human deaths a year.
Who is at higher risk
People at higher risk may want pre-exposure vaccination.
| Why | |
|---|---|
| Travelers | rabies in dogs is still a major problem in Africa, Asia and parts of Central and South America, where PEP can be hard to get and tens of thousands die each year. Since 1990, more than 80 people in the United States have died of rabies caught while traveling. Keep away from wild and unfamiliar animals, including dogs and cats, and ask your doctor, a travel clinic or your health department about your risk before you go |
| Outdoor enthusiasts | caving, camping and hunting can bring contact with wildlife |
| People who work with animals | veterinary professionals and technicians, animal control workers, wildlife researchers and rehabilitators, and farmworkers in close contact with animals |
Prevention
Human rabies is rare in the United States because of work by veterinarians, wildlife managers and public health professionals. Each year, wildlife managers put out more than 5 million oral vaccine baits for wildlife, and veterinarians vaccinate more than 90 million cats and dogs.
What you can do:
- keep your pets' rabies vaccines up to date;
- keep wildlife wild — stay away from wild animals, for your safety and theirs;
- call animal control to remove stray animals near you;
- wash any bite or scratch right away with soap and water;
- seek medical care urgently if you may have been exposed.
Around the world, large-scale dog vaccination is the most effective prevention, but many countries lack the resources to reach every dog. CDC works with public and private partners to improve access to vaccines for people and animals.
Sources
Based on "About Rabies," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; a work of the United States government in the public domain.
Licence: CC0 1.0 (public domain) · Adapted from www.cdc.gov
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