About this episode
Contributor: Jared Scott, MD Educational Pearls: 1-3 cases of rabies per year in US with 55,000 people per year receiving rabies prophylaxis 90% of rabies cases come from wildlife, most commonly by racoons, bats, foxes, and skunks Because of rabies prophylaxis, domesticated pets almost never have rabies in the United States Rabies is typical transmitted via a bite, but direct contact with saliva or brain tissue on an open wound can transmit the virus Some people exposed to rabies from bats will never report a bite References Kessels J, Tarantola A, Salahuddin N, Blumberg L, Knopf L. Rabies post-exposure prophylaxis: A systematic review on abridged vaccination schedules and the effect of changing administration routes during a single course. Vaccine. 2019 Oct 3;37 Suppl 1:A107-A117. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2019.01.041. Epub 2019 Feb 5. PMID: 30737043. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Rabies Postexposure Prophylaxis (PEP). Published June 11, 2019. https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/medical_care/index.html Summarized by John Spartz, MS3 | Edited by Erik Verzemnieks, MD The Emergency Medical Minute is excited to announce that we are now offering AMA PRA Category 1 credits™ via online course modules. To access these and for more information, visit our website at www.emergencymedicalminute.com/cme-courses/ and create an account. Donate to EMM today!