About Rabies
Rabies infections in people are rare in the United States. However, worldwide about 50,000 people die from rabies each year, mostly in developing countries where programs for vaccinating dogs against rabies don't exist. But the good news is that problems can be prevented if the exposed person receives treatment before symptoms of the infection develop.
Rabies is a virus that in the U.S. is usually transmitted by a bite from a wild infected animal, such as a bat, raccoon, skunk, or fox. If a bite from a rabid animal goes untreated and rabies develops, it is almost always fatal.
If you suspect that your child has been bitten by a rabid animal, go to the emergency department immediately. Any animal bites — even those that don't involve rabies — can lead to infections and other medical problems. As a precaution, call your doctor any time your child has been bitten.
Transmission
About 7,000 cases of rabies in animals are reported each year to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Raccoons are the most common carriers of rabies in the United States, but bats are most likely to infect people. Almost three quarters of rabies cases between 1990 and 2001 came from contact with bats.
Skunks and foxes also can be infected with rabies, and a few cases have been reported in wolves, coyotes, bobcats, and ferrets. Small rodents such as hamsters, squirrels, chipmunks, mice, and rabbits are very rarely infected with the virus.
Because of widespread vaccination programs in the United States, transmission from dogs to people is very rare. Outside the United States, exposure to rabid dogs is the most common cause of transmission to humans.
An infected animal has the rabies virus in its saliva and can transmit it to a person through biting. In rarer cases, an animal can spread the virus when its saliva comes in contact with a person's mucous membranes (moist skin surfaces, like the mouth or inner eyelids) or broken skin such as a cut, scratch, bruise, or open wound.
After a bite, the rabies virus can spread into surrounding muscle, then travel up nearby nerves to the brain. Once the virus reaches the brain, the infection is fatal in almost all cases.