Volume 11, Number 12—December 2005
Research
Rabies Postexposure Prophylaxis, New York, 1995–2000
, Nadine Y. Bowden*, Millicent Eidson†, Jeffrey D. Wyatt‡, and Cathleen A. Hanlon*
Table 1
Human rabies postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) by animal source, 4 counties, New York, 1995–2000*
| Animal source | Bite, n (%) | Nonbite, n (%) |
Unspecified§ | Total, n (%) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct |
Indirect‡ | |||||
| Scratch | Saliva/NT† | |||||
| Raccoon | 48 (19) | 16 (6) | 65 (26) | 120 (48) | 1 (<1) | 250 (11) |
| Bat (all species) | 115 (17) | 29 (4) | 100 (15) | 11 (2) | 408 (62) | 663 (30) |
| Other wild species¶ | 76 (45) | 6 (4) | 41 (24) | 44 (26) | 1 (1) | 168 (8) |
| All wild species | 239 (22) | 51 (5) | 206 (19) | 175 (16) | 410 (38) | 1,081 (49) |
| Cat | 367 (70) | 64 (12) | 89 (17) | 3 (1) | 0 | 523 (24) |
| Dog | 493 (99) | 0 | 3 (1) | 0 | 2 (<1) | 498 (22) |
| Other domestic species# | 7 (19) | 0 | 28 (78) | 0 | 1 (3) | 36 (2) |
| All domestic species | 867 (82) | 64 (6) | 120 (11) | 3 (<1) | 3 (<1) | 1,057 (48) |
| Unknown | 22 (28) | 4 (5) | 19 (24) | 28 (36) | 5 (7) | 78 (3) |
| Total | 1,128 (51) | 119 (5) | 345 (16) | 206 (9) | 418 (19) | 2,216 (100) |
*Data are from Cayuga, Monroe, Onondaga, and Wayne Counties.
†Direct contamination of an open wound or mucous membrane with potentially infectious material such as saliva or neural tissue (NT).
‡No known direct contact with a rabid or suspected rabid animal. Indirect exposure consisted of possible contact with saliva on an animal (i.e., pet dog or cat) or inanimate object from a suspected rabid animal that resulted in contamination of an open wound or mucous membrane.
§Unspecified contact indicates no exposure information was listed or exposure was indicated as unknown on data records. Unspecified exposure for bats includes being in the physical presence of a bat and not being able to rule out direct contact, particularly a bite. More people received PEP after unspecified exposure to bats than any other group of animals (p<0.001).
¶Includes beaver, coyote, chipmunk, deer, fox, mouse, opossum, otter, rat, skunk, squirrel, and woodchuck.
#Includes cow, ferret, horse, monkey, and rabbit.