Rabies Exposure Is Rising Across the U.S.—What to Do After a Bite or Scratch

A new CDC alert highlights more reported exposures, mass-exposure events, and preventable treatment errors

Why the CDC issued a nationwide alert

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a Health Alert Network advisory on September 10, 2026, after multiple jurisdictions reported increases in people exposed to animals with confirmed or possible rabies.

CNN reported on September 11 that CDC rabies-related inquiries rose 17% during July and August compared with the same period in 2025. At least eight state health departments also reported increases in rabies post-exposure prophylaxis, or PEP, administration, treatment errors, or both.

The alert does not mean that human rabies cases are suddenly widespread. Human rabies remains rare in the United States. The immediate concern is an increase in reported exposure events—including incidents involving many people—and the need to assess those exposures and administer preventive treatment correctly.

That distinction matters. Rabies is nearly 100% fatal after symptoms begin, but it is preventable when appropriate wound care and PEP are provided before symptoms start.

What counts as a possible rabies exposure

Rabies virus is usually transmitted when saliva or nervous-system tissue from an infected animal enters the body through:

  • A bite that breaks the skin.
  • A scratch contaminated with saliva.
  • Saliva contacting the eyes, mouth, nose, or an open wound.
  • Direct contact with a bat when a bite or scratch cannot be confidently ruled out.

Touching an animal, contact with blood, urine, or feces, and saliva on intact skin are generally not considered rabies exposures. However, circumstances can be difficult to reconstruct, especially with bats, young children, or an animal that cannot be found for testing.

Do not make the final decision alone. Local health departments understand which animals are carrying rabies in the area and whether an animal can be observed or tested.

Which animals are the main concern in the United States

Wildlife causes most rabies exposures in the United States. Bats are the most common source linked to human rabies deaths, while raccoons, skunks, and foxes are important regional carriers. Any mammal can become infected.

Dogs remain a major source of human rabies globally, but routine vaccination has largely controlled the dog-maintained rabies variant in the United States. An unfamiliar, unvaccinated, sick, or unusually behaving dog or cat still requires a professional risk assessment.

Warning behavior can include unexplained aggression, unusual tameness, trouble walking, excessive drooling, paralysis, or activity at an unusual time of day. An animal can also carry rabies without displaying an obvious textbook appearance.

What to do immediately after a bite or scratch

1. Wash the area thoroughly

Immediately wash bites and scratches with soap and running water. Thorough wound cleansing reduces contamination and is an essential part of rabies prevention. If available, a healthcare professional may use a virus-killing agent such as a povidone-iodine solution.

2. Get medical and public-health advice promptly

Contact a healthcare professional, urgent care center, emergency department, or local health department as soon as possible. Explain:

  • The type of animal.
  • Where the event happened.
  • Whether the animal was wild, owned, or stray.
  • What contact occurred and whether the skin was broken.
  • Whether the animal is available for observation or testing.
  • Any known rabies vaccination history for the animal.

Do not wait for symptoms. Once rabies symptoms appear, preventive vaccination is no longer able to stop the disease.

3. Do not try to capture a wild animal yourself

Avoid another exposure. Contact animal control or public health authorities for instructions. If a bat or other animal may need testing, officials can explain how it should be safely contained without damaging the head, which may be needed for laboratory examination.

4. Address other injury risks

Animal bites can also cause bacterial infection, tissue damage, and tetanus risk. Seek urgent care for deep wounds, uncontrolled bleeding, bites to the face or hands, loss of movement or sensation, signs of infection, or injuries involving a child.

Call 911 for severe bleeding, breathing difficulty, loss of consciousness, or another immediate emergency.

What rabies post-exposure prophylaxis involves

The CDC estimates that about 100,000 people receive rabies PEP in the United States each year. For a person who has not previously received a rabies vaccine, treatment generally includes:

  1. Immediate and thorough wound care.
  2. Human rabies immune globulin, or HRIG, placed as much as possible around the wound.
  3. A rabies vaccine dose on the first treatment day.
  4. Additional vaccine doses typically given on days 3, 7, and 14.

People with certain immune-system conditions may need an additional dose and follow-up testing. People previously vaccinated against rabies generally receive a different regimen and should not receive HRIG.

The exact plan must be determined by clinicians and public health officials. Age, immune status, previous vaccination, the animal involved, local rabies patterns, and laboratory results can change the recommendation.

Why treatment errors were part of the warning

The CDC alert was not only about more exposure reports. It also highlighted PEP administration errors.

Common concerns include giving treatment when a proper risk assessment does not support it, failing to provide HRIG to a previously unvaccinated patient, injecting HRIG and vaccine at the same location, placing vaccine in an incorrect injection site, or not following the recommended schedule.

HRIG and vaccine serve different roles. HRIG provides immediate temporary antibodies while the vaccine helps the body develop its own immune response. They should not be mixed in the same syringe or injected into the same anatomical site because HRIG can interfere with the vaccine response.

If you believe a dose was missed, delayed, or administered incorrectly, do not restart or change the series on your own. Contact the treating clinician and health department. CDC guidance notes that small delays of a few days are generally less concerning than gaps of weeks or more, but each situation needs professional review.

Recent mass-exposure events explain the urgency

CNN highlighted a North Carolina event involving baby goats from a mobile petting zoo. Nearly 300 people were potentially exposed, and state officials recommended PEP for 213 people.

Events like this show why rabies prevention is not limited to dramatic wildlife attacks. Exposures can occur at farms, petting zoos, schools, assisted-living facilities, camps, homes, and community events.

Organizations that host animals should maintain veterinary records, follow vaccination requirements, prevent contact with wildlife, train staff to respond to bites and scratches, and keep accurate visitor information so exposed people can be contacted quickly.

How to reduce your risk

  • Keep dogs, cats, and ferrets current on rabies vaccination.
  • Avoid touching or feeding wild animals.
  • Teach children to tell an adult immediately about any bite or scratch.
  • Keep bats out of living spaces by sealing exterior openings safely.
  • Do not handle animals that appear sick, injured, unusually tame, or aggressive.
  • Call animal control rather than approaching a stray or wild animal.
  • Discuss preventive vaccination with a clinician if your work, travel, or activities create ongoing risk.

Pre-exposure vaccination can simplify treatment after an exposure, but it does not eliminate the need for medical evaluation and additional vaccine doses.

Key Takeaways

  • CDC issued a nationwide advisory after increases in reported human rabies exposures and PEP-related concerns.
  • Rabies-related inquiries to CDC were 17% higher in July and August than during the same period in 2025.
  • The alert concerns reported exposures and treatment quality; it does not mean human rabies cases are widespread.
  • Wash any possible exposure immediately and contact medical and public health professionals promptly.
  • Rabies is nearly always fatal after symptoms appear but is preventable when appropriate PEP is given in time.
  • Do not decide on your own whether an animal encounter requires vaccination.

Sources

This article reflects information available on September 14, 2026. It is for general educational purposes and is not a substitute for personalized medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.