The CDC has reported a 17% jump in rabies exposures this summer, along with increased rabies vaccine errors, according to a Sept. 10 CDC Health Alert.
Each year, an estimated 1.4 million people in the U.S. seek medical attention after animal contact and undergo evaluation for rabies, and about 100,000 receive rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) following a potential exposure.
Here is what hospitals and providers need to know.
1. The CDC has received 17% more rabies-related inquiries in July and August compared to the same period in 2025. This includes reports of mass exposure events.
2. As of Sept. 2, use of the two rabies vaccines and two rabies immunoglobulins has increased an estimated 33% and 76%, respectively, compared to the same period last year.
3. At least eight state health departments have reported increased rabies PEP use, PEP administration errors or both.
4. The most common rabies PEP administration errors include administering the vaccine in the gluteal area, using an incorrect rabies vaccine schedule, unnecessarily restarting the rabies vaccine series after a schedule deviation, and administering human rabies immune globulin in the wrong locations or cases.
5. A typical course of PEP costs between $11,000 and $14,000 per person.
6. To reduce errors, the CDC recommends clinicians become familiar with appropriate rabies PEP assessment and administration, provide immediate wound care to patients, confirm that a rabies exposure occurred and that PEP is indicated, and administer HRIG only if the patient has not previously received a rabies vaccine. Find more of the recommendations here.
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