Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Rabies surveillance in the United States during 1990.
- Journal:
- Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
- Year:
- 1992
- Authors:
- Uhaa, I J et al.
- Affiliation:
- Viral and Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch
Plain-English summary
In 1990, there were 4,881 reported cases of rabies in animals across the United States, which was a slight increase from the previous year. Out of these cases, 553 involved domestic animals, while the majority, 4,327, were wild animals, and there was one human case. Pennsylvania had the highest number of animal rabies cases, with 611 reported. Notably, for the first time since the 1950s, more raccoons were reported with rabies than skunks, particularly in New Jersey and New York, where there were dramatic increases in cases. Overall, while some states saw a rise in rabies cases, thirty states reported fewer cases than in the previous year.
Abstract
In 1990, the United States and its territories reported 4,881 cases of rabies in animals to the Centers for Disease Control, a 1.5% increase from 1989. Of these, 553 were domestic animals, 4,327 were wild animals, and one was a human being. Pennsylvania reported the highest number (611) of rabies cases in animals in 1990. For the first time since surveillance of rabies in wild animals was begun in the 1950s, the number of cases of rabies in raccoons exceeded that in skunks. Particularly large increases of cases of rabies in wild and domestic animals were reported in New Jersey (469 cases in 1990 compared with 50 cases in 1989, an increase of 838% from 1989) and New York (242 cases in 1990 compared with 54 cases in 1989, an increase of 348%). The 1,821 cases of rabies in raccoons represented a 17.9% increase over those reported in 1989 and 24.5% over those in 1988. This increase was largely attributable to the larger number of rabid raccoons in New Jersey and New York. Other states that reported an increased number of rabies cases in animals in 1990 included Utah (77.8%), Louisiana (64.7%), North Dakota (60.3%), Arizona (28.6%), Oklahoma (27.5%), Delaware (22.2%), and Maryland (20.6%). Thirty states reported a decrease in the number of cases of rabies in animals.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1577642/