There has been an increase in mortality from rabies in the United States, prompting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to issue public health.

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After two years of no rabies deaths in the United States, five persons died in 2021.

According to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States lost five persons to rabies in 2021, three of whom died within five weeks of the fall (CDC).

The number of rabies cases reported in the United States this year is the highest in more than a decade, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Three people, including a toddler, were infected with rabies after being exposed to bats in or around their homes between September 28 and November 3. Still, none sought post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), a course of immunizations necessary to prevent rabies following exposure.

Rabies-related deaths in the United States are extremely rare, with about one to three documented yearly. However, a recent spike in cases has prompted the CDC to issue a public health warning about the disease's potential dangers. An increase in the number of rabid bats reported to the National Rabies Surveillance System since 2007 may not be due to a rise in the number of rabid bats but rather to a lack of knowledge about the hazards of rabies and of receiving PEP, according to a statement.

An animal's bite or scratch can transmit rabies, which is caused by a virus that attacks the central nervous system, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Before symptoms occur, PEP is approximately 100% effective in preventing the individual from having rabies; once rabies symptoms appear, it is almost invariably fatal. According to the statement, rabies vaccinations are administered to around 60,000 people annually in the United States.

A CDC rabies expert says the recent spate of cases is a "sobering reminder" that people who come into contact with bats are at risk of contracting rabies. "We have come a long way in the United States toward reducing the number of people who become infected each year with rabies, but this recent spate of cases is a sobering reminder that contact with bats poses a real health risk," he said in a statement.

Around 70% of rabies occurrences in the United States are linked to contact with rabid bats, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to the statement, two of the three instances recorded in the fall were due to "avoidable exposures." Patient A handled a bat with bare hands, while patient B was exposed to bat roosting in their own house. Both cases required hospitalization. Two of the patients let the bat go without being tested for rabies. Therefore it was never caught.

An individual patient submitted the bat for testing and was found to be infected, but the patient was afraid of immunizations and did not undergo PEP. Neither of the other two patients saw a bite or scratch, and neither was aware that bats might spread rabies, so they were unaware of the danger.

According to the statement, a doctor or other health expert should evaluate any probable direct or indirect contact with bats, even via clothes, to see if PEP is required. If a bat is found in a room where someone is sleeping, or a youngster is alone, there is a possibility of contact.

The state or local health department or animal control should be contacted to trap and test the bat to establish whether PEP is required, in addition to running potential exposures by your doctor. In addition to the CDC's guidelines on how to safely trap your own bat,

It goes without saying that "the best method to safeguard bat and human health is to prevent interaction with bats," as the scientists noted in their report. The CDC says that in addition to bats, people can get rabies from raccoons, skunks, and foxes, all wild animals. Dog bites from infected animals cause almost all deaths from rabies worldwide.

Reference : https://www.livescience.com/rabies-deaths-cdc-report

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