Rabies
Annual Summary of Reportable Diseases

In Minnesota, the animal reservoirs for rabies are skunks, which carry the North-central U.S. skunk rabies virus variant, and multiple bat species, each with their own host-adapted rabies virus variant. Dogs, cats, and livestock are generally exposed to rabies through encounters with skunks. Vaccinating these domestic animals for rabies not only protects the animals but also helps protect people from being exposed to rabies. 

In 2022, 24 (1.1%) of 2,188 animals tested were positive for rabies. This is a substantial decrease in rabies-positive animals compared to 2021 (42, [2.2%] of 1,932 animals tested) and is the lowest number of rabies-positive animals identified in Minnesota in the last 20 years. In 2022, 18 (75%) of the 24 rabid animals were bats, followed by 5 (21%) skunks. There was one rabid domestic animal, an alpaca, that had not been vaccinated for rabies (Figure 4). There were no human cases of rabies. 

From 2003 to 2022, 1,007 (2.2%) of 45,809 animals tested in Minnesota were positive for rabies. The median number of rabies-positive animals identified annually was 45 (range, 24 to 94). From 2003 to 2022, 342/773 (44.2%) skunks, 57/991 (5.8%) cattle, 508/13,739 (3.7%) bats, 9/386 (2.3%) horses, 49/13,227 (0.4%) cats, 29/13,142 (0.2%) dogs, 1/1,372 (0.1%) raccoons, and 13/2,232 (0.6%) other animals (6 fox, three goats, and one each of woodchuck, bison, deer, and alpaca) tested were positive for rabies. In contrast to the eastern United States, where raccoons carry a raccoon host-adapted variant of the virus and are the most common source of terrestrial rabies, rabies in raccoons is rare in Minnesota.

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In Minnesota, the animal reservoirs for rabies are skunks, which carry the North-central U.S. skunk rabies virus variant and multiple bat species, each with their own host-adapted rabies virus variant. Dogs, cats, and livestock are generally exposed to rabies through encounters with skunks. Vaccinating these domestic animals for rabies provides a buffer between wildlife and people.

In 2021, 42 (2.2%) of 1,932 animals tested were positive for rabies. This is similar to those identified in 2020 (40, [1.9%] of 2,114 animals tested) and similar to the number of positives identified annually in the previous DCN 48;1 2022 17 continued... decade. In 2021, 90% (38/42) of rabid animals were bats followed by skunks (3/42 [7%]). There was one rabid domestic animal, a cat (Figure 5). 

Cases of human rabies in the United States are rare, with 1 to 6 cases reported annually. In 2021, Minnesota reported its first human rabies case since 2007. This case was bitten by a rabid bat, received timely and appropriate rabies postexposure prophylaxis (PEP), yet developed rabies 6 months after the bite. This was the first documented failure of rabies PEP in the western hemisphere and the first to involve bat variant rabies virus. An extensive investigation was conducted and determined that this case had a previously unrecognized, impaired immune system, which likely prevented an appropriate immune response against the rabies virus. Ensuring adequate immune response to rabies vaccines is increasingly important given the rising prevalence of immunocompromised adults in the United States. This investigation does not challenge the high efficacy or safety profile of rabies PEP biologics. 

From 2003 to 2021, 983 (2.3%) of 43,621 animals tested in Minnesota were positive for rabies. The median number of rabies-positive animals identified annually was 48 (range 28 to 94). From 2003 to 2021, 337/761 (44.3%) skunks, 57/966 (5.9%) cattle, 490/12,978 (3.8%) bats, 9/375 (2.4%) horses, 49/12,729 (0.4%) cats, 29/12,419 (0.2%) dogs, 1/1,323 (0.1%) raccoons, and 12/2,137 (0.6%) other animals (fox [6], goat [3], woodchuck, bison, deer) tested were positive for rabies. In contrast to the eastern United States, where raccoons carry a raccoon host-adapted variant of the virus and are the most common source of terrestrial rabies, rabies in raccoons is rare in Minnesota.

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In Minnesota, the animal reservoirs for rabies are skunks and multiple bat species. Dogs, cats, and livestock are generally exposed to rabies through encounters with skunks. Vaccinating these domestic animals for rabies provides a buffer between wildlife and people. 

In 2020, 40 (1.8%) of 2,284 animals tested were positive for rabies. This is similar to 2019 (36 [1.6%]) and consistent with the number of positives seen in 2018. The majority of positive animals in 2020 were bats (34/40 [85%] and followed by skunks (5/40 [12.5%]). There was 1 positive cow (1/40 [2.5%]) (Figure 4). There were no human cases of rabies. From 2003 to 2020, 941 (2.3%) of 41,689 animals tested were positive for rabies. The median number of rabies positive animals identified annually was 48 (range 28-94).

From 2003 to 2020, 334/747 (44.7%) skunks, 57/938 (6.1%) cattle, 452/12,318 (3.7%) bats, 9/365 (2.5%) horses, 48/12,262 (0.4%) cats, 29/11,777 (0.2%) dogs, 1/1,272 (0.1%) raccoons, and 12/2,064 (0.6%) other animals (fox [6], goat [3], woodchuck, bison, deer) tested positive for rabies. In contrast to the eastern United States, where raccoons are the most common source of terrestrial rabies, rabies in raccoons is rare in Minnesota.

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In Minnesota, the animal reservoirs for rabies are skunks and multiple bat species. Dogs, cats, and livestock are generally exposed to rabies through encounters with skunks. Vaccinating these domestic animals for rabies provides a buffer between wildlife and people.

In 2019, 36 (1.6%) of 2,206 animals tested were positive for rabies. This is similar to 2018 (32 [1.5%]) and consistent with the number of positives seen in 2017. The majority of positive animals in 2019 were bats (27/37 [73%] followed by skunks (6/37 [16.2%]). There was 1 positive fox (1/37 [2.7%]), 1 positive goat (1/37 [2.7%]), and 1 positive cat (1/37 [2.7%]) (Figure 4). There were no human cases of rabies.

From 2003 to 2019, 902 (2.4%) of 39,576 animals tested were positive for rabies. The median number of rabies positive animals identified annually was 55 (range 28 to 94). From 2003 to 2019, 329/729 (40%) skunks, 56/914 (6.1%) cattle, 418/11,546 (3.6%) bats, 9/353 (2.5%) horses, 48/11,764 (0.4%) cats, 29/11,130 (0.3%) dogs, 1/1,218 (0.1%) raccoons, and 12/1,920 (0.6%) other animals (fox [6], goat [3], woodchuck, bison, deer) tested positive for rabies. In contrast to the Eastern United States, where raccoons are the most common source of terrestrial rabies, rabies in raccoons is rare in Minnesota.

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In Minnesota, the animal reservoirs for rabies are skunks and multiple bat species. Dogs, cats, and livestock are generally exposed to rabies through encounters with skunks. Vaccinating these domestic animals for rabies provides a buffer between wildlife and people.

In 2018, 32 (1.5%) of 2,175 animals tested were positive for rabies. This is similar to 2017 (35 [1.8%]) and consistent with the number of positives seen in 2014 and 2015. The majority of positive animals in 2017 were bats (27/32 [84.4%]), followed by skunks (3/32 [9.4%]), and there was 1 positive cat (1/32 [3.1%]) and dog (1/32 [3.1%]) (Figure 5). There were no human cases of rabies.

From 2003 to 2018, 865 (2.5%) of 37,369 animals tested were positive for rabies. The median number of rabies positive animals identified annually was 55 (range 28 to 94). From 2003 to 2018, 323/714 (45.2%) skunks, 56/881 (6.4%) cattle, 391/10,755 (3.6%) bats, 9/335 (2.7%) horses, 47/11,221 (0.4%) cats, 29/10,475 (0.3%) dogs, 1/1,162 (0.1%) raccoons, and 10/1,821 (0.5%) other animals (fox [5], goat [2], woodchuck, bison, deer) tested positive for rabies. In contrast to the Eastern United States, where raccoons are the most common source of terrestrial rabies, rabies in raccoons is rare in Minnesota.

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• Archive of Annual Summary of Communicable Diseases Reported to the Minnesota Department of Health
  Archive of past summaries (years prior to 2023 are available as PDFs).