Animals That Can Transmit Rabies: Dogs, Bats, Raccoons, Skunks, and Foxes

CNN Indonesia

Saturday, 03 June 2023 09:27 WIB

Jakarta, CNNIndonesia —

Rabies or what is known as ‘mad dog’ disease is not only transmitted by species dog. Several other animals are also said to be able to transmit rabies.

United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that most of the rabies case reports he received as of 2018 came from wild animals.

“In the United States, more than 90% of reported cases of rabies in animals occur in wild animals,” wrote CDCSunday (3/6).

The low cases of rabies carried by dogs, especially in the United States, are due to regulations that require dogs to be vaccinated against rabies. Report CDC recorded only 1 percent of dogs as carriers of rabies.

The CDC notes that a number of animals are considered to be the main carriers of the rabies virus. The animal is between Raccoons, Foxes to bats.

“The wild animals most frequently carrying rabies in the United States are raccoons, skunks, bats and foxes,” he wrote.

They also say that among wild animals transmitting rabies, bats are the leading cause of death in the United States.

“Contact with infected bats is the leading cause of death from rabies in humans in this country,” the CDC wrote.

The list of animals carrying Rabies is as follows:

1. Dog

Animals that are common as pets are called the main cause of transmission of the rabies virus. The CDC says that although dogs are no longer the main cause of transmission in the United States, dogs are still the main cause of transmission and the largest cause of death from rabies in the world.

“Most of the deaths from rabies in humans worldwide are caused by dog ​​bites,” the CDC wrote.

2. Bats

This nocturnal species has been named the leading cause of death in the United States in recent years.

The CDC report notes the high risk of death from the bites and scratches of these small animals.

“At least 7 out of 10 Americans who die from rabies in the United States are bitten by a bat,” the CDC writes.

Furthermore, the CDC notes that around 92 percent of rabies cases that occur in the United States are mostly caused by bats.

“33 percent of animal cases reported in 2018,” he wrote.

They also noted the range of cases of bat-borne rabies found in almost all parts of the United States.

“Between 2013-2017, bats with rabies were found in every state except Hawaii,” he wrote.

3. Raccoon

Species that are able to hibernate are called carriers of the rabies virus. The not-for-profit organization The Humane Society categorizes the raccoon as a ‘species vector of rabies’ because it is considered a major carrier of rabies in the United States along with bats, skunks and foxes.

According to the CDC, only one person has died from raccoon rabies.

Even so, they said the raccoon was the second most frequently reported species in cases of rabies.

“Raccoons (transmit rabies) 30.3 percent” he wrote.

Meanwhile, the Department of Health for the City of Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America noted that raccoons are the most frequently reported animals transmitting rabies in the United States.

“Raccoons remain the most frequently reported rabid animal in the United States,” reported from princetonnj.gov.

However, they did not mention the exact number of infections caused by these animals.

4. Skunk

The black-and-white species is known as a carrier of rabies. The CDC reports skunks rank third in rabies cases in the United States after bats and raccoons.

“Skunk or skunk 20.3 percent,” wrote the CDC.

The Princeton City Health Department said this species had carried rabies, which spread from California, Texas to Montana.

5. Fox

This species is also known as a carrier of the rabies virus. The CDC records only 7.2 percent of the case reports it receives.

“Foxes or foxes 7.2 percent,” wrote the CDC.

Non Profit Organization The Humane Society of United States said the percentage of transmission of this species was not too significant. They also said that they had never found cases of transmission to humans.

“Fox accounts for approximately 7% of cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…the good news is that this strain of rabies rarely, if ever, is transmitted to humans in the US,” he wrote.

The Princeton City Health Department named two variants of the fox as a carrier of rabies, namely the arctic fox and the red fox, which range from Alaska to Canada.

(pan/pua)