HealthDay News — Federal health officials are reporting a nationwide rise in the number of people exposed to rabid or possibly rabid animals.
They’re urging anyone who has been bitten or scratched to seek care right away.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a health advisory Sept. 10 after multiple states reported local increases in rabies exposures since July.
Some involved known rabies carriers, including wild animals. Others involved animals in which the virus is rarely reported.
The agency fielded 17% more rabies-related inquiries in July and August than in the same two months in 2025.
As of Sept. 2, pharmacy data showed use of the two rabies vaccines licensed in the United States up an estimated 33% from a year earlier, and use of the two rabies immune globulin products up 76%.
There is no shortage of either product, the CDC said.
Rabies is a viral disease that spreads to people through bites, scratches or contact with an infected animal’s saliva. It attacks the central nervous system and is almost always fatal once symptoms appear.
Early symptoms may include weakness, fever, headache and discomfort, prickling or itching at the location of the bite...