Rabies Exposure Surveillance

Animal Bites, Scratches, and Other Animal Exposures

Report an Animal Bite or Potential Rabies Exposure - HUMAN

If you or someone you know gets bitten or scratched by any animal, you should fill out a report. This includes wild animals and pets. Doctors and veterinarians should also report when they treat a person who may have been exposed to an animal that can carry rabies. Use the link below to open the form. Please share as much information as you can.

Complete Form Here

If the form link is not functioning, please call 775-328-2447 for assistance

Animal bites and scratches can be dangerous because they can spread germs that make people sick, including rabies.

Rabies is a very serious disease caused by a virus. Once a person shows symptoms, it is almost always deadly. Rabies spreads through the spit of an infected animal, usually from a bite or when spit touches broken skin. Animals like bats, raccoons, skunks, foxes, and pets that are not vaccinated can carry rabies, even if they look healthy. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that getting care right away is very important. Washing the wound well, seeking medical help fast, and starting treatment can prevent rabies in people almost every time if it is done soon enough. Rabies can take a long time to make someone sick, which gives people a chance to get help. Acting fast after any possible exposure is the best way to stop this deadly disease.

Post‑exposure prophylaxis, or PEP, is the treatment people get after they might have been exposed to rabies. It includes a medicine called HRIG and four vaccine shots. Rabies is almost always deadly once symptoms start, but PEP works very well. Because of this, PEP is usually recommended when a person’s open wound, or wet areas like the nose or mouth, touch the spit or other fluids of an animal that can carry rabies. You can find more information about PEP here: Rabies Post-exposure Prophylaxis Guidance | Rabies | CDC

Sources:

CDC – Rabies in the United States: Protecting Public Health

WHO – Rabies Fact Sheet

The Epidemiology team and the Environmental Health Vector Control team at NNPH work together to help prevent this serious health problem. To learn more about what they do, visit their webpage here.

Rabies Prevention in People

Prevention is the best way to keep you and your family safe.

• Stay away from wild animals, especially if they look sick, hurt, or act strangely during the day.
• Do not go near these animals. Call Washoe County Regional Animal Services (WCRAS) instead: Regional Animal Services
• Keep your pets vaccinated for rabies and do not let them mix with wild animals.
• When you travel to other countries where rabies in dogs is common, learn about the rabies risk there.
• While traveling, stay away from wild animals and any dogs or cats you do not know.

For more information about how to prevent rabies, visit the CDC’s page at: https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/prevention/index.html

For Healthcare Providers

Rabies is a preventable but deadly viral disease that spreads through the bites or scratches of infected mammals. Prompt post‑exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is critical, as treatment must begin before symptoms appear to prevent severe illness and death. In the United States, strong rabies control programs and widespread access to PEP have made human cases extremely rare, with fewer than 10 reported each year, although about 100,000 people still receive PEP annually after possible exposures. For additional information on clinical screening and PEP, please see the links below.

Clinical screening for rabies

Rabies Post-exposure Prophylaxis Guidance

For Veterinarians

Rabies is rare but a serious public health concern in the United States. Veterinary staff are at risk for contracting zoonotic infections.

For more information on animal vaccine schedules and a clinical overview of rabies, please visit the CDC’s page with information for veterinarians at https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/hcp/veterinarians/index.html

Animal rabies vaccines should only be administered by a veterinarian or under veterinary supervision, in compliance with local laws. A list of licensed and marketed animal vaccines in the United States is available in the NASPHV Rabies Compendium

Under state law (Nevada Administrative Code 441A.412), veterinarians in Washoe County are required to send a copy of the rabies vaccination certificate to Northern Nevada Public Health (formerly Washoe County Health District). Please submit rabies vaccine certificate here.

Questions? Need additional information?

Please contact the Epidemiology Program.