Figure 2

Animal Rabies Within the United States

Figure 2: Distribution of major terrestrial reservoirs of rabies in the United States, 1999 (reproduced with permission from the Journal of the AVMA, 19991)

Raccoons:
Raccoons remain the most frequently reported rabid animal in the United States. The raccoon rabies reservoir extends throughout the southeastern, mid-Atlantic, and northeastern states. No other reservoirs of raccoon rabies have been identified. Rabid raccoons occasionally detected outside of the reservoir area have been found to have non-raccoon variants of the rabies virus, suggesting that they were infected by other species. No rabid raccoons have been ever been identified in Washington.

Skunks:
Skunks are the second most frequently reported rabid animal in this country. Three virus variants are responsible for rabies in skunks. There are two large geographically distinct reservoirs of skunk rabies due to three different variants of the virus: one in California; the other in the central United States from Montana to Texas. Rabid skunks reported in eastern states outside the reservoir areas apparently were infected by raccoons rather than by other skunks.

Foxes:
Two variants of the rabies virus are associated with persistent reservoirs of rabies in foxes. One long-standing reservoir involves arctic and red foxes in Alaska (and Canada) and to a lesser extent, areas of New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. A different variant of the virus has been associated with gray foxes, resulting in reservoirs in Texas and Arizona.

Coyotes:
A rabies variant found in domestic dogs along the Texas-Mexico border is currently present in coyotes in southern Texas. Northward spread of this reservoir has been limited by an aggressive (and expensive) airdrop vaccination program.

Bats:
Rabid bats of many different species have been found in all of the 48 contiguous states. To date, only one rabid bat has ever been identified in Alaska -- in the southeastern part of the state. No rabid bats (or other rabid animals) have ever been identified in Hawaii.

Rodents/small mammals:
Providers are often asked about the risks associated with small wild mammals -- such as rats, mice, squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits and hares. Rodent bites are common, so rodents are often tested for rabies in the United States. Despite the large number of rodents examined, it is exceedingly uncommon for one to be infected with rabies virus. It has been postulated that these animals are so small that they are unlikely to survive an attack of a larger rabid animal (such as a raccoon, skunk, or fox). No rabid rodents have ever been identified in Washington. Furthermore, although there have been several case reports of humans infected by rabid rodents in other countries, no transmission of rabies from a rodent to a human (or any other mammal) has ever been documented in the United States².

Other animals:
Other wild animals in the United States are occasionally found to be rabid. Most are infected with virus strains associated with terrestrial animal species, rather than bats. In 1999, 86 rabid non-reservoir wild animals were reported from 25 of 50 states, including 31 groundhogs and 24 bobcats¹. None were identified in Washington. Rarely, other animals are found to be rabid, particularly in areas with bat rabies. A rabid goat¹⁸and a rabid kitten¹⁹each resulted in multiple potential exposures for children in the eastern United States.