Notes from the Field : Identification of Tourists from Switzerland Exposed to Rabies Virus While Visiting the United States — January 2018

Abstract

This article reports on a case of rabies exposure in 2 tourists (a married couple) from Switzerland who had found a bat in a shopping mall parking lot in Naples, Florida, USA and then took it to a local veterinary clinic on 10 January 2018. On 15 January, the bat tested positive for rabies at the Florida Department of Health public health laboratory. After repeated efforts to identify the couple were unsuccessful, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was able to locate the couple by using the national focal point network maintained by the World Health Organization's International Health Regulations (WHO IHR); the 2 were promptly administered postexposure prophylaxis (PEP). This event illustrates the usefulness of the WHO IHR national focal point network for communicating binational, time-sensitive public health information. The Swiss Federal Office of Public Health was rapidly able to employ effective messaging to identify the persons at risk.