Purpose
To monitor the epidemiology, incidence and geographic distribution of animal rabies and potential rabies exposures in humans.
Collection Period
Data displayed here was collected between 2019-2024. The years displayed will vary between graphs based on data availability and quality.
Key Points
This data represents cases of animal bites, animal rabies, and rabies vaccine releases occurring in Rhode Island.
About Rabies
Rabies is a fatal but preventable virus which is typically spread to humans through contact with an infected animal. This contact can include a bite, scratch, or exposure to the animal’s saliva. Rabies can only infect mammals with bats, raccoons, skunks, and foxes being the most common carriers.
Symptoms in animals can vary greatly, but typically include appearing disoriented or unsteady, biting at their own limbs, having difficulty eating and drinking or experiencing partial paralysis. Animals may also appear agitated or aggressive towards other animals or people. It is important to note that rabies may have the opposite effect with some animals resulting in a normally wild animal appearing to be friendly or tame. In late stage of the disease, shortly before death, some animals also experience excessive drooling.
If you see a wild animal experiencing any of these symptoms, do not approach or attempt to handle it. Call a wildlife service which can assist with animal removals. If you have been exposed to an animal experiencing any of these symptoms and would like to have it tested for rabies, please call us at 401-222-2577.
Rabies in Humans
Cases of human rabies are extremely rare in the United States with fewer than 10 cases occurring each year. Globally, there are roughly 59,000 cases of rabies in humans annually. The rarity of human rabies cases in the United State is due to a series of public health efforts including the vaccination of household pets, public education efforts of rabies lethality, and the accessibility of vaccinations for humans.
Animal Bites Reporting in Rhode Island
In Rhode Island, all cases of animal bites and potential rabies exposure are reportable within 24 hours of seeking medical care. These exposures are reported to the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) so that a nurse can complete an assessment to determine whether the rabies vaccines is necessary. In instances where there is a risk of potential rabies exposure, our nurses work with the patient and their selected healthcare facility to arrange the release of the rabies vaccine series.
To report an animal bite or potential rabies exposure, click here. For any questions, call us at 401-222-2577.
Animal Bites Case Counts by Month and Year
Animal Bites and Rabies Exposures is one of the highest volume conditions reported to the Center for Acute Infectious Disease Epidemiology (CAIDE) with over 2,000 cases annually. In 2023, there were over 2,700 animal bites cases investigated. This was the highest case count in the last five years. Prior to 2023, cases which were associated with an animal that tested negative for rabies were not entered into our database. Beginning in 2023, our ability to count these cases changed resulting in the increased case count shown below.
There is a seasonal trend to the number of animal bites reported. Between 2019-2023, August was consistently the month with the most reports. The typical animal bites season begins in May and lasts until the end of August. The increase in animal bites cases in the summer is caused in part by the seasonal activity of bats, in addition to the timing of when wild animals reproduce in late spring. More information relating to seasonal trends seen in the animal bites program can be found in the graphs below.
Rabies Vaccine Releases by Month and Year
The number of rabies vaccine releases increased between 2022 and 2023. The most likely explanation for this increase is the overall decrease in animal bites cases during the Covid-19 pandemic (2020-2022). Public awareness of RIDOH’s animal bites and rabies program has also grown which could contribute to more cases being reported in 2023.
The seasonal trend of increased rabies vaccine releases in the summer months (May-August) coincides with the seasonal trend of animal bite case reports shown in the graphs above. August is consistently the month with the most vaccine releases.
Rabies Vaccine Releases by Location
The three healthcare facilities where RIDOH released the rabies vaccine most often were Hasbro Children’s Hospital, Lifespan Infectious Disease Clinic (Now Brown University Health), and South County Hospital. RIDOH works with the patient to arrange rabies vaccine releases based on the proximity of the facility to patient’s home, whether the patient is a minor, and appointment availability. One of our goals to keep patients out of the emergency department to lower waiting time and keep care costs low.
Animal Bites Case Counts by Species
Between 2021-2023, incidents involving a dog were the most common compared to all other species. However, dogs have the lowest release rate with only about 5% of cases receiving the rabies vaccine. Between 2021-2023, there were also between 400 and 500 incidents involving cats, making cats the second most reported species exposure. Similarly to dogs, less than 10% of cases exposed to cats are recommended to receive the rabies vaccine.
Bats are the most common wildlife exposure. While only 2-3% of bats are positive for rabies, bat exposures account for the majority of RIDOH’s rabies vaccine releases. When someone awakes to a bat in the bedroom and the bat is not captured and submitted for testing, RIDOH recommends that the person receive the rabies vaccine. Given that rabies is nearly 100% fatal, we err on the side of caution and assume the bat was rabid.
In cases of an exposure to a wild animal such as a bat, raccoon, skunk, or fox where rabies testing is not available, the vaccine is typically recommended.
Data Note: In the Rabies Vaccine Releases by Exposing Animal Species chart, an animal is considered “unidentifiable” when the person exposed is not certain what animal came into contact with them. For example, the person exposed cannot be certain whether they were bit by a bird or a bat.
Animal Rabies Mapping
The maps below show the exact location where each rabies positive animal was captured separated by year. The 2025 map will be updated in real time with each new rabies positive animal. In 2024, North Kingstown had the highest number of animals positive for rabies. There were 42 animals submitted for rabies testing from North Kingstown, with 4 of these animals testing positive at RISHL.
There is also a map displaying the total number of animals submitted for rabies testing by county in the 2024 Total Submissions section. In 2024, Providence County had the most specimens submitted for testing. To the left of the map, there is a table displaying a list of specimens submitted to RISHL broken down by city of origin, species and test result.
Rabies Lab Submissions
In 2024, there was a 5-year high of animals submitted to the Rhode Island State Health Lab (RISHL) for rabies testing. As shown in the Submissions by Month graph, there was an early spike in May 2024 likely caused by an increase in submissions of young animals and an early start to bat season possibly caused by warmer temperatures earlier in the year. In 2024, July and August also set 5-year record highs for rabies testing submissions.
In addition to 2024 having the highest total lab submissions in the last 5 years, it also had the highest number of rabies positive animals with 32 positive specimens. In August 2024 alone, there were 7 positive specimens.
Data note: In the Rabies Testing Results by Year graph, the results shown include negative, positive, and unable to test. When an animal is found to be untestable, this typically means that there was too much decomposition to get an accurate result of negative or positive.
Rabies Lab Submissions by Species
From 2021 to 2024, bats were consistently the animal submitted most frequently for rabies testing at RISHL. Cats, dogs, and raccoons have all seen slight increases in the total number of submission whereas woodchucks have seen slight decrease.
In 2021, 2022, and 2024, raccoons were the species with the most positive results. In 2023, bats had the most positive rabies results compared to all other species and in the other three years displayed, bats were second behind raccoons.