Animal Rabies in Washington State

Animal Rabies in Washington State

Currently, Washington has no terrestrial animal reservoirs of rabies. Bats are the most commonly rabid animal in this state. Of the 5175 Washington bats examined from 1960–2000, 433 (8%) were rabid. Rabid bats have been found in almost every county in the state. The virus has been identified in the bat species common here, and likely occurs in all of the 16–18 bat species present in Washington.

Other than bats, only eight individual animals from this state have tested positive for rabies since 1960. In 1976, an unvaccinated cat from Thurston County was found to be rabid. The following year, a five year old unvaccinated dachshund tested positive for rabies. These were the last confirmed rabid cat and dog in the state.

Two other domestic animals have been diagnosed with rabies since 1960: a horse from Benton County in 1992; and a llama from King County in 1994. The llama was found to be infected with a bat variant of the rabies virus. Because the specimens from the horse were fixed in formalin, the virus strain infecting that animal could not be further characterized at the time.

The only other animals to be identified as rabid in Washington since 1960 were four pet skunks. Two of the skunks were inappropriately imported into Washington and were likely infected out-of-state. The remaining two skunks were pets improperly given live attenuated rabies vaccine.

Table 1 lists the results of animal testing for rabies from 1960–2000.

^* One llama and one horse
^** Imported or inappropriately vaccinated
^***Rabbits, hares, and pikas

Testing performed at the following labs: Washington Public Health Laboratories, Seattle-King County Department of Public Health, Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Lab, Oregon Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, and Idaho Public Health Laboratories.

Historical note and disclaimer