Annual Summary of Disease Activity:
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Rabies, 2019
In Minnesota, the animal reservoirs for rabies are skunks and multiple bat species. Dogs, cats, and livestock are generally exposed to rabies through encounters with skunks. Vaccinating these domestic animals for rabies provides a buffer between wildlife and people.
In 2019, 36 (1.6%) of 2,206 animals tested were positive for rabies. This is similar to 2018 (32 [1.5%]) and consistent with the number of positives seen in 2017. The majority of positive animals in 2019 were bats (27/37 [73%] followed by skunks (6/37 [16.2%]). There was 1 positive fox (1/37 [2.7%]), 1 positive goat (1/37 [2.7%]), and 1 positive cat (1/37 [2.7%]) (Figure 4). There were no human cases of rabies.
From 2003 to 2019, 902 (2.4%) of 39,576 animals tested were positive for rabies. The median number of rabies positive animals identified annually was 55 (range 28 to 94). From 2003 to 2019, 329/729 (40%) skunks, 56/914 (6.1%) cattle, 418/11,546 (3.6%) bats, 9/353 (2.5%) horses, 48/11,764 (0.4%) cats, 29/11,130 (0.3%) dogs, 1/1,218 (0.1%) raccoons, and 12/1,920 (0.6%) other animals (fox [6], goat [3], woodchuck, bison, deer) tested positive for rabies. In contrast to the Eastern United States, where raccoons are the most common source of terrestrial rabies, rabies in raccoons is rare in Minnesota.
- Find up to date information at>> Rabies
- Full issue>> Annual Summary of Communicable Diseases Reported to the Minnesota Department of Health, 2019