CDC Flags Rise in Rabies Exposures Nationwide, Warns of Errors in Post-Bite Treatment

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a national health advisory on September 10, 2026, reporting a 17% rise in rabies-related inquiries in July and August compared with the same period a year earlier — and saying states had reported errors in administering some post-exposure treatment.

Key facts

CDC issued national health advisory HAN-00533 on September 10, 2026
Rabies-related inquiries rose 17% in July–August 2026 versus the same months in 2025
Rabies vaccine use up an estimated 33%, immunoglobulin (HRIG) use up an estimated 76%, as of September 2
At least eight state health departments reported an uptick; CDC has not named them
Rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is considered close to 100% effective when started before symptoms appear
CDC says there is no national shortage of vaccine or immunoglobulin
A full PEP course typically costs $11,000 to $14,000 per person

What to do if you’re bitten or scratched

If a wild or sick-acting animal bites or scratches you, wash the wound thoroughly right away, then call a health care provider or your local public health department — they can assess your risk and start treatment quickly if it’s needed. CDC also advises avoiding contact with wild or unfamiliar animals altogether, and keeping pets’ rabies vaccinations current.

Why CDC issued the advisory

The advisory is numbered HAN-00533. In it, CDC says rabies-related inquiries it received rose 17% in July and August 2026, compared with the same two months in 2025.

Pharmacy data points the same direction. Weekly figures as of September 2 showed use of the two FDA-licensed rabies vaccines up an estimated 33% over the same period last year. Use of human rabies immunoglobulin (HRIG) — the antibody treatment given alongside the vaccine — was up an estimated 76%.

At least eight state health departments have also reported an uptick, CDC said: either more people seeking post-exposure treatment, mistakes in how that treatment was given, or both. The agency has not named which states.

How CDC is characterizing the rise

CDC’s own language is notably restrained: its advisory and an accompanying newsroom statement describe “increases in recent animal rabies activity and associated human exposures,” not an outbreak, and HAN-00533 sits in the network’s Health Advisory tier — not its highest alert level. The advisory also doesn’t name the animals behind the reported rise. It refers only to “known rabies vectors or animals in which rabies is less commonly reported.” That’s separate from a different, general fact: nationally, raccoons, skunks, bats and foxes are the animals most commonly linked to rabies in the U.S. year-round. CDC has not published a species breakdown tied to this specific summer’s increase, so it isn’t known whether those four animals, or something else, are behind it.

Treatment mistakes CDC flagged

Beyond the raw increase in demand, CDC flagged specific mistakes states reported in administering post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP):

Giving the vaccine in the buttock rather than the correct site — the deltoid in adults, the thigh in young children
Not fully working the immunoglobulin into the wound itself
Giving the immunoglobulin and vaccine at the same injection site, instead of separately
Skipping the immunoglobulin when it was needed
Giving immunoglobulin to people who’d already been vaccinated and didn’t need it
Misreading a patient’s vaccination history
Using the wrong dosing schedule

The correct treatment schedule

The correct regimen, per CDC: someone who has never been vaccinated against rabies should get wound care, immunoglobulin worked into the wound, and four vaccine doses spread across days 0, 3, 7 and 14 (a fifth dose on day 28 plus blood testing to confirm an adequate immune response for people who are immunocompromised). Someone already vaccinated needs only wound care and two vaccine doses, on days 0 and 3 — no immunoglobulin. Started before symptoms appear, PEP is considered close to 100% effective.

The North Carolina petting zoo case

In late August, North Carolina’s health department confirmed rabies in three baby goats — a fourth was presumed infected — at a mobile petting zoo, Farm Adventures, after a skunk apparently got into their pen in late July. The zoo had visited roughly 10 events across seven counties between July 28 and August 27. As of September 2, local health departments had carried out 284 exposure risk assessments connected to that petting zoo and recommended post-exposure treatment for 213 of the people evaluated. This is a separate, earlier story: CDC’s national advisory does not name North Carolina or this incident anywhere in its text, and there’s no official confirmation it’s among the eight states CDC referenced.

Timeline

July 28 – August 27, 2026 — Farm Adventures petting zoo visits roughly 10 events across seven North Carolina counties
Late July 2026 — A skunk apparently gets into the petting zoo’s goat pen
Late August 2026 — North Carolina’s health department confirms rabies in three baby goats (a fourth presumed infected)
July–August 2026 — CDC-received rabies-related inquiries rise 17% versus the same months in 2025
September 2, 2026 — Weekly pharmacy data show vaccine use up ~33% and HRIG use up ~76%; 284 North Carolina risk assessments completed, 213 people recommended for treatment; CDC reports no national shortage
September 10, 2026 — CDC issues national health advisory HAN-00533

The scale, for context

CDC estimates roughly 1.4 million Americans are evaluated for possible rabies exposure each year, with about 100,000 of them receiving PEP; more than 6 million animal bites are reported in the U.S. annually. Fewer than 10 people die of rabies in the U.S. in a typical year, and Hawaii is the only state considered rabies-free. CDC said as of September 2 there was no national shortage of rabies vaccine or immunoglobulin despite the higher demand. A full PEP course typically costs $11,000 to $14,000 per person.