How data is used

CDC uses data from the rabies assessment to inform recommendations for travel and for importing animals and animal products into the United States.

Travel recommendations

CDC makes recommendations for international travelers to each country of destination by evaluating the risk of rabies exposure and access to high-quality post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), including rabies immunoglobulin and vaccine.

Animal import

CDC Animal and Animal Product Import program maintains import regulations. These include rules dealing with the risk of re-introduction of canine (canine) rabies into the United States from imported dogs. While rabies is found in several animal species in the United States (including bats, foxes, raccoons, and skunks), the United States has been free from canine rabies since 2007. Import regulations aim to prevent the reintroduction of this type of rabies.

Rabies status by country

Select a country from the drop-down menu to review the latest rabies status information.

What the data means

Lyssa virus free

Rabies virus belongs to the Rhabdoviridae family, genus lyssavirus, which includes 16 virus species. All Lyssa virus species have the potential to cause rabies disease in humans, but rabies virus is by far the most common cause.

Robust national rabies surveillance

Rabies surveillance is considered robust if formal surveillance reports (including methods and results) are available in the form of publications, government reports or other submissions that meet international reporting requirements. If data is not available, the country is not considered to have robust surveillance. Regional subject matter experts are encouraged to contact CDC ([email protected]) to provide additional data for consideration when updating the reported status of their country.

Robust national rabies control program implemented

A robust national canine rabies control program is evidenced by control measures (such as canine rabies vaccination coverage), significant reduction of cases and/or transmission limited to focal areas as documented in publications or reports within the past 5 years. If data are not available, the country is not considered to have a robust control program. Regional subject matter experts are encouraged to contact CDC ([email protected]) to provide additional data for consideration when updating the reported status of their country.

Vaccine Availability/RIG Availability

The availability of high-quality rabies vaccine and rabies immunoglobulin (RIG) for human use is categorized as:

• Available – Available for post-exposure prophylaxis within 48 hours of patient presenting for care in most of the country

• Limited Availability – Available for post-exposure prophylaxis within 48 hours of patient presentation in major urban medical facilities only

• Not readily available – Not readily available within 48 hours of the patient presenting for treatment in most of the country.

How the data is collected

For this assessment, CDC subject matter experts review publicly available data, including:

The assessment considers the presence of rabies from wild animals, canine rabies variants (canine rabies) and non-rabies lyssavirus. The resulting programmatic recommendations and rules take into account factors such as:

• The quality of rabies surveillance systems and laboratory capacity in each country.
• Characterization of rabies virus genomes.
• The presence or prevalence of domestically acquired cases of rabies in humans and animals. In some cases, rabies surveillance is insufficient to characterize rabies reservoirs or rabies presence in a country.
• Efforts to control the disease in dogs (such as dog vaccination coverage, dog population management and the existence and enforcement of legislation to limit rabies transmission in dogs).
• The availability of post-exposure prophylaxis (human rabies immunoglobulin and vaccines) within 48 hours of a human patient presenting for care in most of the country.

More information

For more information on how a country’s rabies status was assessed or references to relevant publications and reports, please contact [email protected].