Rabies spreads through bites and scratches from infected animals and is nearly always fatal once symptoms start, but post-exposure shots given beforehand are nearly 100% effective.
In the US, over 90% of animal cases are wildlife: bats, skunks, raccoons, foxes; elsewhere, unvaccinated dogs dominate. Incubation runs weeks to months, so the window for the vaccine series, wound care, immune globulin, and four or five doses, is real. Any bat contact or bite from a wild, stray, or unvaccinated animal, or any bite in a rabies-common country, means wash the wound and get care the same day. Never wait for symptoms.
What to do
Common questions
What is rabies and how do you get it?
Rabies is a virus that attacks the central nervous system, and the CDC is unflinching about the stakes: it is fatal once symptoms appear, but preventable if you get medical care before they start. How you get it: through bites or scratches from an infected animal, when virus-laden saliva enters the wound. In the United States, more than 90% of reported rabies cases in animals occur in wildlife, with bats, skunks, raccoons, and foxes the frequent carriers; in many other countries, unvaccinated dogs are the main source. The timeline is what makes it survivable: the virus incubates for weeks to months before symptoms, and post-exposure prophylaxis, wound care plus immune globulin and a series of four or five vaccine doses given as soon as possible after exposure, is nearly 100% effective. Around 100,000 Americans get these shots each year. Early symptoms are deceptively mild: flu-like illness, plus discomfort or itching at the bite site, before progressing to confusion, agitation, and the famous fear of water. The rule of action: any bite or scratch from a bat, skunk, raccoon, fox, or stray or unvaccinated animal, or any animal bite in a country where rabies is common, means wash the wound and get medical care the same day. Do not wait for symptoms; waiting is how rabies kills.