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Volume 5, Number 3—June 1999
Research

Human Rabies Postexposure Prophylaxis during a Raccoon Rabies Epizootic in New York, 1993 and 1994

Jeffrey D. Wyatt*Comments to Author , William H. Barker*, Nancy M. Bennett†, and Cathleen A. Hanlon‡
Author affiliations: *University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry, Rochester, New York, USA; †Monroe County Department of Health, Rochester, New York, USA; ‡Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

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Table 1

Human rabies postexposure prophylaxis (PEP), New York State, 1993-94a

Nonbite (N=818)
Animal sourceBite (N=355) 
N (%)Directb
Indirectc Saliva
N (%)Overall total PEP
N (%)
Scratch 
N ( %)Saliva 
N (%)NT N (%)Blood 
N (%)
Raccoon37 (10)18 (33)44 (29)4 (67)13 (93)472d (79)589e (50)
Bat (all species)29 (8)3 (6)12 (8)1 (17)0 (0)9 (2)54 (5)
Other wild species24 (7)5 (11)21 (14)0 (0)1 (7)89 (15)140 (12)
All wild species90 (25)26 (47)77 (51)5 (84)14 (100)570 (96)783 (67)
Cat114 (32)29 (53)41 (28)0 (0)0 (0)21 (4)205 (17)
Dog151 (43)0 (0)13 (9)0 (0)0 (0)1 (<1)165 (14)
Other domestic species0 (0)0 (0)19 (13)1 (17)0 (0)0 (0)20 (2)
All domestic species265 (75)29 (53)73 (49)1 (17)0 (0)22 (4)390 (33)
Total355 (30)55 (55)150 (13)6 (0.5)14 (1)592 (51)1,173 (100)

aData are from Cayuga, Monroe, Onondaga, and Wayne Counties.
bDirect contamination of an open wound or mucous membrane with potentially infectious material such as saliva, nervous tissue (NT), or blood (mixed with other body fluids), from a rabies-suspect or known-rabid animal.
cNo direct contact with a rabid or suspect-rabid animal. Indirect exposure through possible conveyance of saliva on an animal (i.e., pet dog or cat) or inanimate object resulting in contamination of an open wound or mucous membrane.
dp < 0.001. More people received PEP after indirect exposure to saliva from raccoons than from any other species (472 PEP cases due to indirect contact with 261 raccoons).
eTotal PEP cases with raccoon as an exposure source (includes one case with no reported route of exposure).

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Page created: December 10, 2010
Page updated: December 10, 2010
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