Human Rabies — Wyoming and Utah, 2015

Abstract

© 2016, Department of Health and Human Services. All rights reserved.What is already known about this topic? Rabies is a nearly universally fatal zoonotic disease, but is preventable if exposed persons receive postexposure prophylaxis (PEP). During recent decades, most domestically acquired human rabies cases in the United States have been associated with bat exposures; however, in the majority of these cases, no bite was reported. What is added by this report? In 2015, a Wyoming woman aged 77 years died from infection with a rabies virus variant enzootic to the silver-haired bat. The patient had contact with a bat while sleeping, but she and her husband, her primary caregiver, were unaware of the risk for rabies in the absence of a visible bite wound; they did not seek medical evaluation or receive PEP after the incident. The patient’s family had reportedly contacted several local agencies about bats near their home over multiple years, but had not been informed about the risk for rabies. What are the implications for public health practice? Public understanding of rabies exposure risk from bat contact needs to be improved. Cooperation among public health and other agencies can aid in referring persons with potential bat exposure for rabies risk assessment.