2024 Highlights
- One person in Minnesota died of rabies, after unrecognized contact with a bat.
- During a 4-week period in May 2024, five of 35 steers on a Minnesota dairy farm developed neurologic signs consistent with rabies. The cluster likely represents a point-source exposure to a rabid skunk; however, steer-to-steer transmission could not be ruled out.
- In 2024, 68 (2.2%) of 2,351 animals tested were positive for rabies, including 43 bats, and 14 skunks.
- Six laboratory-confirmed human tularemia cases were reported in 2024. Five patients had the pneumonic form of tularemia which is rare.
- Two people had infections with Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, a rare bacterium that can also infect livestock. Both patients had contact with raw or undercooked meat from a live animal market.
- In 2024, Influenza A H5N1 was detected in dairy cattle for the first time in the United States. Nine dairy farms tested positive in Minnesota, but no human infections were detected.
Rabies Map
In August 2024, the Zoonotic Diseases Unit investigated a case of rabies in a Minnesota resident. The person, who lived alone, had a bat in the house and killed it with a hammer and disposed of the body outside. They did not report direct contact with the bat to their family, health care providers or public health, and did not seek rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP). In August, the person became ill with encephalitis and died of rabies. MDH ZDU staff worked with hospital staff in Minnesota to ensure that all health care providers who cared for the patient were evaluated for potential rabies transmission and provided PEP, when indicated. Additionally, all family members, friends and others who had contact with the patient during their infectious period were evaluated and were recommended PEP, when indicated. Among 155 assessed persons in Minnesota, five of 35 (14%) personal contacts and nine of 120 (8%) health care worker contacts were recommended PEP.
Six laboratory-confirmed human tularemia cases were reported in 2024, among whom five patients had the pneumonic form of tularemia. One of these cases died and was identified through the Unexplained Deaths and Critical Illness program. During 2000–2023, among 32 tularemia cases identified in Minnesota, only two (6.3%) were pneumonic tularemia. Five patients were hospitalized for a median of six days. Two clinical laboratorians manipulated cultures outside of a biosafety cabinet and were advised to self-monitor for tularemia signs or symptoms for 14 days; neither experienced illness. Twenty-seven tularemia-positive animals were reported by direct laboratory report or veterinarians via telephone or email in 2024. Twenty-one (78%) animal cases were in domestic cats, five (19%) in domestic dogs, and one (4%) in a wild rabbit.
In 2024, an outbreak of Cryptosporidium parvum infections occurred among veterinary technician students that visited a dairy farm for educational purposes. Eight cases were identified as part of the outbreak and gaps in handwashing and personal protective equipment use were identified. Public health recommendations were provided to reduce illness in future class visits.
In 2024, 24 poultry farms, 7 backyard flocks, and 9 dairy herds tested positive for Influenza A H5N1. This was the first time that this virus was detected in dairy cattle in the United States leading to an expanded animal health and public health response with the dairy industry. One vet clinic cared for cats that tested positive for Influenza A H5N1. Across these 42 premises, 914 people, including poultry workers, dairy workers, veterinary staff, state and federal animal health responders, and backyard flock owners were potentially exposed to Influenza A H5N1. MDH staff interviewed 477 individuals and monitored 359 for illness for 10 to 60 days, depending on their response role. No human cases of Influenza A H5N1 were detected.
