Rabies - Description

Worldwide, approximately fifteen thousand cases of human rabies occur each year. Remarkably, although more than one million persons in the United States are bitten each year by animals, only one or two die of rabies each year. Nonetheless, rabies is likely to remain a public-health problem in the future. Humans are continually moving into lands occupied by wild animals. As they do, they run the risk of being bitten by an animal with rabies.

Both domestic and wild animals can transmit rabies. At one time, domestic animals, such as cats and dogs, were the main source of rabies bites in the United States. In 1955, 47 percent of all reported rabies cases were caused by dog bites.

That situation has changed. Most cities, towns, and counties now require that dogs be vaccinated for rabies. The number of dogs infected with the virus has dropped dramatically. In 1994, fewer than 2 percent of all dogs tested positive for the rabies virus. Today, the vast majority of rabies cases in humans are caused by bites from wild animals, such as bats, raccoons, skunks, foxes, wolves, and coyotes.

Anyone who has been bitten by an animal can contract rabies. Age and sex make no difference in people's chances of getting the disease. However, people who work in certain occupations are at higher risk for rabies than the general public. These populations include farm and ranch workers, animal trainers and caretakers, forest rangers, animal exterminators, and veterinarians. People in these occupations often handle wild animals or domestic animals that may not have been vaccinated.