Rabies
Over the last 100 years, rabies in the United States has changed dramatically. More than
90% of all animal cases reported annually to CDC now occur in wildlife; before 1960 the
majority were in domestic animals. The principal rabies hosts today are wild carnivores
and bats.. The number of rabies-related human deaths in the United States has declined
from more than 100 annually at the turn of the century to one or two per year in the
1990's. Modern day prophylaxis has proven nearly 100% successful. In the United States,
human fatalities associated with rabies occur in people who fail to seek medical assistance,
usually because they were unaware of their exposure.
UPDATED ACIP HUMAN RABIES PREVENTION RECOMMENDATIONS - The revised human rabies prevention recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices are now available at
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/rr/rr57e507.pdf. These recommendations update the 1999 version and 1) provide updated information on human and animal rabies epidemiology; 2) summarize the evidence regarding the effectiveness, immunogenicity, and safety of rabies biologics; 3) present cost-effectiveness of rabies postexposure
prophylaxis; 4) present recommendations for rabies pre-
and post-exposure prophylaxis; and 5) present
information on treatment considerations for human rabies
patients.
Additional Resources
