Federal health officials are warning that Americans are meeting more rabid or possibly rabid animals this year.
The CDC issued a national Health Alert Network advisory on September 10, 2026.
Between July and August, the agency fielded 17 percent more rabies-related inquiries than in the same period in 2025.
Pharmacy figures through September 2 showed rabies vaccine use up 33 percent, and use of human rabies immune globulin, the antibody given alongside the shots, up 76 percent.
Also read: Four to six servings of whole grains a day may do more for your heart than you think
At least eight state health departments reported the increase, along with errors in how the treatment was given.
The CDC has told clinicians to run careful, evidence-based risk assessments on every possible exposure.
Rabies is caused by a virus in the saliva of an infected mammal. It spreads mainly through bites and scratches, and attacks the brain and spinal cord.
Once symptoms start, rabies is nearly always fatal. It is almost fully preventable when a person receives the correct shots before symptoms begin.
Also read: Eating this much fiber every day may cut your obesity risk by more than a quarter
Where the exposures are coming from
Two clusters stood out this summer. In Maryland, three people were attacked by rabid beavers at state parks.
In North Carolina, nearly 300 people were potentially exposed to rabid baby goats after a mobile petting zoo made at least 10 visits between July 28 and August 27, 2026.
State health officials recommended post-exposure treatment for 213 of them.
The goats are believed to have caught the virus from a skunk.
Also read: 5 breathing techniques that may lower your blood pressure and ease anxiety
Wildlife drives most of the risk in the US. Bats, raccoons, skunks, and foxes are the main carriers, and bat bites can be small enough to miss, which is one reason the CDC treats any close bat encounter as a possible exposure.
What treatment looks like
Post-exposure prophylaxis, or PEP, is the standard treatment after a bite, scratch, or other high-risk contact.
About 100,000 Americans receive it every year, and a full course typically costs between $11,000 and $14,000 per person.
For someone never vaccinated, the CDC schedule is four vaccine doses on days 0, 3, 7, and 14.
Also read: How eating too much sugar affects your liver and raises fatty liver risk
A one-time dose of human rabies immune globulin goes in and around the wound.
Someone vaccinated before, for example a veterinarian or wildlife worker, only needs two vaccine doses (days 0 and 3) and no immune globulin.
People with weakened immune systems may need a fifth dose on day 28 plus a blood test to confirm the shots worked.
Early symptoms include weakness, fever, headache, and discomfort or tingling at the bite site.
Also read: Can the sweetener sucralose damage your DNA? Here is what scientists have found
Those signs can look flu-like, and the CDC advises anyone bitten or scratched by a wild mammal, an unfamiliar pet, or a bat to seek care right away rather than waiting.
What to do after a bite or scratch
Wash the wound with soap and running water for 15 minutes.
Then contact a healthcare provider or the local health department for a risk assessment.
Keep pets up to date on their rabies vaccinations.
Never handle a bat, raccoon, skunk, fox, or stray animal that is acting oddly or is active during hours it should be asleep.
Anyone who wakes up in a room with a bat, or finds a bat near a child, someone asleep, or a person unable to describe an encounter, should treat it as a possible exposure.
This article is made and published by Ida-Marie Palm Varbæk, who may have used AI in the preparation.