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Each year, US public health officials respond to 175 bat mass exposures, events in which more than 10 people are exposed to a potentially rabid bat.
New animal hosts
In many ways, the threat posed by bats is a reflection of the success of US rabies policy, the CDC said.
Before 1960, dog bites caused most cases of rabies in humans. But mass vaccination programs for pets and leash laws have dramatically reduced rabies in dogs, displacing the main threat to bats and other wildlife.
"Mass dog vaccination programs began in the 1950s and by 2004 they had eliminated the type of rabies that normally occurs in dogs," said Dr. Anne Schuchat, Senior Deputy Director, CDC, press point Wednesday.
Dogs represent only 1% of the rabid animals reported each year.
"Reducing rabies in dogs is a remarkable achievement of the US public health system, but with this deadly disease still present in thousands of wild animals, it's important that Americans be aware of the risk," said the Director of CDC, Robert Redfield, in the release. .
Of the rabid animals detected in the United States, 32% are bats; 28% are raccoons; 21% are skunks; 7% are foxes; and 6% are cats, according to Schuchat.
In fact, since the 1990s, three times more rabid cats have been reported in the United States than rabid dogs, Pieracci said at the briefing.
"Most Americans vaccinate their dogs, but often people do not vaccinate cats," she said. "The vaccination of cats is very important if they come into contact with wild animals inside or outside the home."
Imported cases
Overseas is another matter.
On a global scale, rabid dogs are responsible for about 98% of the 59,000 human deaths from rabies each year.
In fact, encounters with dogs while traveling abroad are the second leading cause of rabies among Americans, the CDC said.
Imported dogs also present a risk. Each year, no less than 107,000 dogs are imported from countries where canine rabies is common. Since 2015, three rabid dogs have been brought to the United States.
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