Rabies Statistics in US 2026 | Human Exposures, Cases, Deaths, States & Facts

Rabies kills fewer than 10 people a year in the United States, yet about 100,000 Americans receive post-exposure treatment annually, and the CDC reported a 17% jump in rabies exposure inquiries in July and August 2026. Animals logged 3,834 confirmed rabies cases in 2024, and more than 90% of them were wildlife.

Rabies in America 2026

Rabies statistics in the US show a disease that is rare in people and common in wildlife. The virus is almost always fatal once symptoms appear, but decades of pet vaccination and animal control have pushed human deaths down to a handful per year. The CDC estimates that 1.4 million Americans seek medical care after animal contact each year, and about 100,000 of them receive post-exposure prophylaxis, known as PEP. Roughly 3 in 4 Americans live in a community where raccoons, skunks, or foxes carry the virus.

The 2026 numbers moved in the wrong direction. On September 10, 2026, the CDC issued a Health Alert Network advisory after it received 17% more rabies-related inquiries in July and August than in the same months of 2025. Pharmacy data as of September 2, 2026 showed rabies vaccine use up 33% and rabies immunoglobulin use up 76% year over year. This article covers the confirmed rabies statistics in the US for 2026: human exposures, cases, deaths, animal reservoirs, state-level data, and treatment costs.

Interesting Facts about Rabies in America 2026

The gap between 100,000 treatments and fewer than 10 deaths is the core of the story. PEP works. The CDC describes it as nearly 100% effective when a patient starts it before symptoms begin, so nearly every death traces to a person who never sought care. That pattern shows up in the bat data: a bite from a bat can leave almost no visible wound, and several recent victims never saw a doctor because they saw no mark.

The 17% rise in 2026 inquiries does not mean more people are dying. It means more people are being exposed or are worried about exposure, and clinicians are giving more treatment courses. The CDC also flagged PEP administration errors in at least eight states, which adds cost and risk without adding protection. Supply is not the problem. The agency states that no shortage of vaccine or immunoglobulin exists.

Rabies Statistics in US 2026 – Human Exposures and PEP Use

Human exposure is the number that matters most for public health planning. Only a small share of exposures ever leads to disease, but each one triggers a risk assessment, and many trigger a full treatment course.

Yearly Rabies Exposure Funnel (US)
Evaluated after animal contact  ████████████████████████████ 1,400,000
Receive PEP                     ██░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░   100,000
Human deaths reported           ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░   fewer than 10

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Health Alert Network advisory of September 10, 2026, and CDC MMWR rabies reports.

The funnel explains why rabies stays in the news despite tiny death counts. About 7% of the 1.4 million people evaluated each year end up on PEP, which means clinicians and health departments handle a large volume of exposure calls for a very small number of true infections. When calls rise 17%, as they did in summer 2026, the workload moves straight through to emergency rooms, pharmacies, and county health offices. The CDC also noted mass exposure events, where a single animal exposed more than one person.

The pharmacy numbers show the same pressure from a different angle. Immunoglobulin use jumped 76%, more than double the 33% rise in vaccine use, because immunoglobulin goes in at the wound site on the first day of treatment while the vaccine is a four-dose series spread over about two weeks. A steeper immunoglobulin increase points to more new patients starting treatment, not just existing patients finishing their series. The CDC tied part of the increase to exposures involving animals where rabies is uncommon, such as animals that would normally not prompt treatment.

Rabies Cases in US 2026 – Human Cases and Deaths by Year

Human rabies cases in the US are counted in single digits, and the year-to-year swings are small in absolute terms but large in proportion. Bats drive most of the recent cases.

Human Rabies Cases by Year (US)
2019  ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 0
2020  ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 0
2021  ██████████░░░░░░░░░░ 5
2022  ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 0
2023  ░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 0
2024  ████████░░░░░░░░░░░░ 4

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Rabies Surveillance System and MMWR reports; NBC News and Healio coverage of CDC data.

Two zero-case years in a row, 2022 and 2023, made 2024 look like a spike, though four cases is still small. The two US-acquired deaths, in Minnesota and California, both followed bat contact where the patient did not seek care. The California patient reported feeling a possible bite while handling a bat and saw no wound, so she skipped treatment. The Minnesota patient had a similar history. Both cases were preventable with PEP.

The six deaths reported over the 12 months ending in August 2025 are the highest 12-month total the CDC had seen in years, against 17 cases across the whole ten-year span from 2015 to 2024. That count includes a case from a transplant chain: a kidney recipient diagnosed in February 2025 received the organ from a donor who died in December 2024 with undiagnosed rabies. The CDC has not yet published a final calendar-year 2025 total in the sources reviewed here, so treat the 12-month figure as the most recent confirmed count.

Rabies Statistics in US 2026 – Animal Cases by Species

Animals hold the virus in the US, and the species mix decides where human risk sits. The most recent complete species breakdown comes from 2023, when the CDC’s national system logged 3,760 confirmed cases from 89,530 samples.

Rabid Animals by Species, 2023
Bats       ██████████████████████████████████ 1,298 (34.5%)
Raccoons   ████████████████████████████░░░░░░ 1,085 (28.9%)
Skunks     █████████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░   642 (17.1%)
Foxes      ████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░   299 (8.0%)
Cats       ██████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░   222 (5.9%)
Dogs       █░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░    33 (0.9%)

Source: CDC National Rabies Surveillance System data published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 2025, and California Department of Public Health annual report.

Wildlife accounted for 3,451 of the 3,760 cases, or 91.8%. Bats led the list, but raccoons and skunks together added up to nearly half of all cases, and both species live close to homes. Each species carries its own virus variant with its own territory: raccoon rabies runs along the eastern seaboard, skunk rabies covers much of the Midwest and West, and gray fox rabies persists in the Southwest. The total rose 5.1% from 2022. The CDC’s later count for 2024 came to 3,834 cases with 13 outbreaks, up from 4 outbreaks in 2023, and 2025 had logged 2,081 cases and 13 outbreaks by September, which the CDC called consistent with the five-year average.

Cats and dogs sit at the bottom of the chart for a reason. Pet vaccination laws and the elimination of the canine rabies virus variant from the US, achieved in 2007, cut domestic cases to 255 combined in 2023. Cats outnumbered dogs by nearly seven to one, which reflects lower vaccination rates among cats and more outdoor exposure. For a wider look at how rabies mortality compares over time, see the Death Rate of Rabies in US report.

Rabies Statistics in US 2026 by State

State labs run the testing, and state numbers show how the national picture breaks down locally. Texas publishes some of the most detailed data, and several other states reported notable events in 2024 and 2025.

Texas Rabid Animals as Share of Specimens Tested
2022  ████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 4% (395 of 8,976)
2023  ████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 4% (350 of 9,413)

Source: Texas Department of State Health Services annual rabies reports, California Department of Public Health, and CDC MMWR reports.

Texas shows how steady a state’s rate can stay. Positive results held at 4% of specimens in both 2022 and 2023, even as the number of tested animals rose from 8,976 to 9,413. Positive cases fell from 395 to 350, and county coverage narrowed from 104 counties to 99. Bats produced 45% of Texas cases in 2023, and skunks came second. Texas also runs an oral rabies vaccination program for coyotes in South Texas and gray foxes in West Central Texas, which has kept those fox and coyote variants contained since the 1990s.

The other rows show how local surges look. Franklin County, North Carolina, saw confirmed wild animal cases double in one season, and a county health director called that a major change. The CDC was tracking 15 likely outbreaks across states from New York to Oregon in late summer 2025. California’s single 2024 human case and Minnesota’s death both trace to bats, which matches the national pattern. Kentucky and Ohio recorded imported cases, meaning the patients caught the virus abroad and developed symptoms after arriving in the US.

Rabies Statistics in US 2026 – Treatment Costs and Supply

Cost is the least visible part of the rabies burden. Prevention spending dwarfs the direct cost of treating any human case, because every exposure triggers an assessment and many trigger a full course of shots.

PEP Course Composition
Human rabies immunoglobulin  ██  2 doses (wound site + injection)
Rabies vaccine               ████  4 doses over about 14 days
Cost of one full course      Up to $14,000

Source: CDC Health Alert Network advisory (September 10, 2026), CIDRAP reporting on the advisory, and CDC rabies prevention guidance.

At up to $14,000 per course, 100,000 annual treatments imply spending in the range of a billion dollars a year at the top of the price range, though insurers and hospitals negotiate lower rates and the CDC does not publish a single national total. The price comes from the immunoglobulin, which is made from human plasma and is expensive to produce. Only 2 vaccines and 2 immunoglobulin products hold US licenses, so a manufacturing problem at one company could tighten supply fast. That is why the CDC stresses appropriate use. Extra doses given in error waste product without adding protection.

The 2026 surge in demand makes the error issue more pressing. The CDC linked the higher use to more exposures and to mistakes in risk assessment, such as treating patients after contact with animals that carry very low risk, or giving repeat doses that a patient does not need. Rabies in humans has almost no treatment once symptoms start, so the whole system leans on getting PEP right the first time. For a look at another animal-linked and insect-linked disease group that public health teams track each summer, see Mosquito Borne Diseases in US.

Rabies Statistics in US 2026 – Fatality and Under-Detection

Rabies has one of the highest fatality rates of any infectious disease, and the confirmed death count may understate reality. A 2026 modeling study in Communications Health estimated how many cases go undiagnosed.

Confirmed vs Estimated Human Rabies Deaths, 2000–2024
Confirmed (about 7%)   ██░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ ~60
Estimated total        ██████████████████████████████ 856 (range 213–2,220)

Source: Communications Health (2026) modeling study; CDC MMWR human rabies reports; World Health Organization rabies fact sheet.

The 856 figure is a modeled estimate, not a count, and the range is wide, from 213 to 2,220. Researchers built it from documented transplant cases in which organs from donors with undiagnosed rabies infected recipients. Those cases show that the disease can pass unrecognized because early symptoms look like other illnesses, and few patients get tested. If the estimate is right, only about 7% of rabies deaths in the US between 2000 and 2024 were confirmed. Treat it as a research finding and not as an official CDC statistic.

The confirmed numbers still tell a clear story about prevention. Bat exposure caused 35 of 42 US-acquired cases between 2000 and 2024, which is 83%. Worldwide, rabies kills about 59,000 people a year according to the WHO, almost all from dog bites in countries without strong vaccination programs. The US gap between those global deaths and its own single-digit total measures what pet vaccination, wildlife surveillance, and PEP deliver. Other vaccine-preventable diseases are moving the other way this year, as shown in Measles Death Statistics in US.

Frequently Asked Questions About Rabies in US 2026

How many people die from rabies in the US each year?

Fewer than 10 people die from rabies in the US in a typical year. From 2015 to 2024 the CDC documented 17 human cases, and 2 of them were acquired outside the US.

How many rabies cases were reported in the US in 2026?

The CDC has not published a final 2026 human case count. It has reported a 17% rise in rabies-related inquiries in July and August 2026 compared with the same period in 2025, along with higher vaccine and immunoglobulin use.

How many animals test positive for rabies in the US each year?

About 4,000 animals test positive each year. The CDC recorded 3,760 cases in 2023 and 3,834 cases in 2024, with wildlife making up more than 90% of the total.

Which animals carry rabies most often in the US?

Bats, raccoons, skunks, and foxes carry most cases. In 2023, bats accounted for 34.5% of cases, raccoons for 28.9%, skunks for 17.1%, and foxes for 8.0%.

How many people get rabies shots in the US each year?

About 100,000 people receive post-exposure prophylaxis each year, out of roughly 1.4 million who seek care after animal contact.

How much does rabies treatment cost?

One full PEP course can cost up to $14,000. It includes 2 doses of immunoglobulin and a 4-dose vaccine series.

What animal causes the most human rabies cases in the US?

Bats. They caused 35 of 42 US-acquired human cases between 2000 and 2024, or 83%. A bat bite can leave no visible mark.

Is there a rabies vaccine shortage in 2026?

No. The CDC stated in its September 10, 2026 advisory that no shortage of rabies vaccine or immunoglobulin exists, even though use rose 33% and 76% respectively.

Can you survive rabies after symptoms start?

Almost never. Rabies is close to 100% fatal once symptoms appear, which is why treatment must begin right after exposure. PEP is nearly 100% effective when started before symptoms.

Which US states have the most rabies cases?

Case counts depend on testing volume and local wildlife. Texas confirmed 350 rabid animals in 2023 across 99 counties. The CDC reports raccoon rabies along the East Coast, skunk rabies across the Midwest and West, and fox rabies in the Southwest and Alaska.

Disclaimer: This research report is compiled from publicly available sources. While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, no representation or warranty, express or implied, is given as to the completeness or reliability of the information. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions, losses, or damages of any kind arising from the use of this report.

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