Human Rabies

Human rabies cases in the United States are rare, with only 1 to 3 cases reported annually. Thirty-four cases of human rabies have been diagnosed in the United States since 2003, in which 10 cases were found to have contracted infection outside of the United States and its territories. The number of human deaths in the United States attributed to rabies has been steadily declining since the 1970’s due to animal control and vaccination programs, modern rabies biologics following exposure, and successful outreach campaigns. Rabies vaccination programs have eliminated domestic dogs as reservoirs of rabies in the United States, although we still see 80 – 100 dogs and >300 cats with rabies each year, usually infected by wildlife when these domesticated pets are not vaccinated against rabies. While the biggest rabies threat in the world (domestic dogs) has been controlled in the United States, interactions with other rabies reservoir species results in 30,000 – 60,000 Americans being vaccinated against rabies each year.

The case histories (if published) of the ten most recent cases can be found using the links below:

• California - 2011
• New Jersey - 2011
• New York - 2011
• Louisiana - 2010
• Wisconsin - 2010
• Texas - 2009
• Indiana - 2009
• Virginia - 2009
• Michigan - 2009

Cases of Rabies in Humans in the United States and Puerto Rico, 2003 Through July 2014, by Circumstances of Exposure and Rabies Virus Variant.

*Data for exposure history are reported based on when plausible information was reported directly by the patient (if lucid or credible), or when a reliable account of an incident consistent with rabies virus exposure (e.g. dog bite) was reported by an independent witness (usually a family member). Exposure histories are categorized as: Bite, contact (e.g. awaking to find bat on exposed skin, etc), but no known bite was acknowledged, or unknown (i.e. no known contact with an animal was elicited during case investigation)

†Variants of the rabies virus associated with terrestrial animals in the United States and Puerto Rico are identified with the names of the reservoir animal (e.g. dog or raccoon), followed by the name of the most definitive geographic entity (usually the country) from which the variant has been identified. Variants of the rabies virus associated with bats are identified with the names of the species of bats in which they have been found to be circulating. Because information regarding the location of the exposure and the identity of the exposing animal is almost always retrospective and much information is frequently unavailable, the location of the exposure and the identity of the animal responsible for the infection are often limited to deduction. Dr = Desmodus rotundus, Ln = Lasionycteris noctivagans, My Sp = Myotis species, Ps = Perimyotis subflavus, Tb= Tadarida brasiliensis

Annual Surveillance Reports in the United States

• 2013 [PDF - 756KB]
• 2010   [PDF - 1 MB]
• 2009 [PDF - 1.33 MB]
• 2008 [PDF - 1.45 MB]
• 2007 [PDF - 1.10 MB]  JAVMA 233(6):884-897 (2008). Available with permission.
• 2006 [PDF - 1.38 MB]
• 2005 [PDF - 1.29 MB]