Rabies surveillance in the United States during 2009.
Abstract: During 2009, 49 states and Puerto Rico reported 6,690 rabid animals and 4 human rabies cases to the CDC, representing a 2.2% decrease from the 6,841 rabid animals and 2 human cases reported in 2008. Approximately 92% of reported rabid animals were wildlife. Relative contributions by the major animal groups were as follows: 2,327 (34.8%) raccoons, 1,625 (24.3%) bats, 1,603 (24.0%) skunks, 504 (75%) foxes, 300 (4.5%) cats, 81 (1.2%) dogs, and 74 (1.1%) cattle. Compared with 2008, numbers of rabid raccoons and bats that were reported decreased, whereas numbers of rabid skunks, foxes, cats, cattle, dogs, and horses that were reported increased. Fewer rabid raccoons, compared with 2008, were reported by 12 of the 20 eastern states where raccoon rabies is enzootic, and number of rabid raccoons decreased by 2.6% overall nationally. Despite a 10% decrease in the number of rabid bats that were reported and a decrease in the total number of bats submitted for testing, bats were the second most commonly submitted animal, behind cats, during 2009. The number of rabid skunks that were reported increased by 0.9% overall. The proportion of rabid skunks in which infection was attributed to the raccoon rabies virus variant decreased from 473% in 2008 to 40.9% in 2009, resulting in a 12.7% increase in the number of rabid skunks infected with a skunk rabies virus variant. The number of rabid foxes increased 11.0% overall from the previous year. Four cases of rabies involving humans were reported from Texas, Indiana, Virginia, and Michigan. The Texas case represented the first presumptive abortive human rabies case, with the patient recovering after the onset of symptoms without intensive care. The Indiana and Michigan cases were associated with bat rabies virus variants. The human rabies case in Virginia was associated with a canine rabies virus variant acquired during the patient's travel to India.
Publication Date: 2010-09-16 PubMed ID: 20839985DOI: 10.2460/javma.237.6.646Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary
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This research article presents the statistics of rabies surveillance in the United States for the year 2009. The data indicates a slight decrease in reported rabid animals and human rabies cases from the previous year, with most of the reported cases involving wildlife.
Overview of Rabies Cases
- In the year 2009, a total of 6,690 rabid animals were reported in 49 states and Puerto Rico, a 2.2% decrease compared to the 6,841 cases reported in 2008.
- Of all the reported cases, approximately 92% belonged to wildlife. The rest of the rabies cases involved domestic animals like cats, dogs, and cattle.
- Moreover, there were four cases of human rabies, which is twice the number reported in the prior year.
Breakdown of Rabid Animals
- Varying kinds of animals contributed to the 2009 data: 34.8% were raccoons, 24.3% were bats, 24.0% were skunks, 7.5% were foxes, 4.5% were cats, 1.2% were dogs, and 1.1% were cattle.
- While the number of reported cases among raccoons and bats decreased compared to the previous year, rabies cases reported among skunks, foxes, cats, cattle, dogs, and horses increased.
- Nationally, rabid raccoons decreased by 2.6%. Among the 20 eastern states where raccoon rabies was prevalent, 12 reported fewer cases of rabid raccoons compared to 2008.
Bat and Skunk Rabies
- Despite the 10% decrease in reported rabid bats and a decrease in total bats submitted for testing, bats were the second most submitted animal for testing, after cats.
- The incidence of rabies in skunks rose by 0.9%. However, the proportion of those infected by the raccoon rabies virus variant fell from 47.3% in 2008 to 40.9% in 2009. This resulted in a 12.7% rise in rabid skunks infected with a skunk rabies virus variant.
Rabies in Humans and Foxes
- The number of reported rabid foxes increased 11.0% in 2009 compared to 2008.
- Four human rabies cases were reported in Texas, Indiana, Virginia, and Michigan. The case from Texas was exceptional, as the patient recovered post the onset of symptoms without requiring intensive care. Indiana and Michigan cases were traced to bat rabies virus variants, while the case in Virginia was associated with a canine rabies virus variant, likely contracted during the patient’s travels to India.
Cite This Article
APA
Blanton JD, Palmer D, Rupprecht CE.
(2010).
Rabies surveillance in the United States during 2009.
J Am Vet Med Assoc, 237(6), 646-657.
https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.237.6.646 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Poxvirus and Rabies Branch, Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Disease, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA. asi5@cdc.gov
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Animals, Domestic
- Animals, Wild
- Canada / epidemiology
- Cat Diseases / epidemiology
- Cats
- Cattle
- Cattle Diseases / epidemiology
- Chiroptera
- Dog Diseases / epidemiology
- Dogs
- Equidae
- Foxes
- Humans
- Mexico / epidemiology
- Population Surveillance
- Rabies / epidemiology
- Rabies / veterinary
- Rabies Vaccines / administration & dosage
- Raccoons
- Sentinel Surveillance / veterinary
- United States / epidemiology
- Zoonoses
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