Rabies surveillance in the United States during 2022.

Objective: To provide comprehensive epidemiological information about the distribution and occurrence of rabies during 2022 in the US, Canada, and Mexico.

Methods: The US National Rabies Surveillance System collected 2022 animal rabies data from US state and territorial public health departments and USDA Wildlife Services. Temporal and geographic analyses were conducted to evaluate trends in animal rabies cases.

Genetic Tracking of a Rabid Coyote (Canis latrans) Detected beyond a Rabies Enzootic Area in West Virginia, USA.

Wildlife translocation and cross-species transmission can impede control and elimination of emerging zoonotic diseases. Tracking the geographic origin of both host and virus (i.e.

Evaluation of contingency actions to control the spread of raccoon rabies in Ohio and Virginia.

The raccoon (Procyon lotor) variant of the rabies virus (RRV) is enzootic in the eastern United States and oral rabies vaccination (ORV) is the primary strategy to prevent and control landscape spread. Breaches of ORV management zones occasionally occur, and emergency "contingency" actions may be implemented to enhance local control. Contingency actions are an integral part of landscape-scale wildlife rabies management but can be very costly and routinely involve enhanced rabies surveillance (ERS) around the index case.

Raccoon rabies control and elimination in the northeastern U.S. and southern Québec, Canada.

Rabies virus (RABV) is a deadly zoonosis that circulates in wild carnivore populations in North America. Intensive management within the USA and Canada has been conducted to control the spread of the raccoon () variant of RABV and work towards elimination. We examined RABV occurrence across the northeastern USA and southeastern Québec, Canada during 2008–2018 using a multi-method, dynamic occupancy model.

Rabies surveillance in the United States during 2021.

Objective: To provide epidemiological information on the occurrence of animal and human rabies in the US during 2021 and summaries of 2021 rabies surveillance for Canada and Mexico.

Procedures: State and territorial public health departments and USDA Wildlife Services provided data on animals submitted for rabies testing in 2021. Data were analyzed temporally and geographically to assess trends in domestic animal and wildlife rabies cases.

Rabies surveillance in the United States during 2020.

Objective: To provide epidemiological information on animal and human cases of rabies in the US during 2020 and summaries of 2020 rabies surveillance for Canada and Mexico.

Animals: All animals submitted for laboratory diagnosis of rabies in the US during 2020.

Procedures: State and territorial public health departments and USDA Wildlife Services provided 2020 rabies surveillance data.

Rabies surveillance in the United States during 2019.

Objective: To provide epidemiological information on animal and human cases of rabies occurring in the United States during 2019 and summaries of 2019 rabies surveillance for Canada and Mexico.

Animals: All animals submitted for laboratory diagnosis of rabies in the United States during 2019.

Procedures: State and territorial public health departments and USDA Wildlife Services provided data on animals submitted for rabies testing in the United States during 2019.

Public Veterinary Medicine: Public Health: Rabies surveillance in the United States during 2018.

Objective: To describe rabies and rabies-related events occurring during 2018 in the United States.

Animals: All animals submitted for laboratory diagnosis of rabies in the United States during 2018.

Procedures: State and territorial public health departments provided data on animals submitted for rabies testing in 2018.

Evaluation of rabies virus characterization to enhance early detection of important rabies epizootic events in the United States.

Objective: To evaluate rabies virus (RABV) characterization data obtained from animal specimens submitted to the US public health rabies surveillance system and propose a standardized approach to sample selection for RABV characterization that could enhance early detection of important rabies epizootic events in the United States.

Sample: United States public health rabies surveillance system data collected from January 1, 2010, through December 31, 2015.

Procedures: Data were reviewed to identify RABV-positive specimens for which virus characterization would likely provide information regarding any of 4 overarching events (discovery of novel variants, translocation of RABV variants, host-shift events, and any unusual rabies-related event) that could substantially alter animal rabies epizootiology in the United States.

Rabies Surveillance Identifies Potential Risk Corridors and Enables Management Evaluation.

Intensive efforts are being made to eliminate the raccoon variant of rabies virus (RABV) from the eastern United States and Canada. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Wildlife Services National Rabies Management Program has implemented enhanced rabies surveillance (ERS) to improve case detection across the extent of the raccoon oral rabies vaccination (ORV) management area. We evaluated ERS and public health surveillance data from 2006 to 2017 in three northeastern USA states using a dynamic occupancy modeling approach.

Enhanced Rabies Surveillance Using a Direct Rapid Immunohistochemical Test.

Laboratory-based surveillance is integral for rabies prevention, control and management efforts. While the DFA is the gold standard for rabies diagnosis, there is a need to validate additional diagnostic techniques to improve rabies surveillance, particularly in developing countries. Here, we present a standard protocol for the DRIT as an alternative, laboratory or field-based testing option that uses light microscopy as compared to the DFA.

Rabies surveillance in the United States during 2017.

OBJECTIVE To describe rabies and rabies-related events occurring during 2017 in the United States. DESIGN Cross-sectional analysis of passive surveillance data. ANIMALS All animals submitted for laboratory diagnosis of rabies in the United States during 2017.

Translocation of a Stray Cat Infected with Rabies from North Carolina to a Terrestrial Rabies-Free County in Ohio, 2017.

On July 24, 2017, the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) was notified of a positive rabies test result from a domestic cat in Summit County, a county considered free from terrestrial rabies. Oral rabies vaccination (ORV) of raccoons, in the form of consumable bait, is conducted each year along the Ohio-Pennsylvania border to prevent the westward expansion of the raccoon rabies virus variant (RVV). In the United States, several distinct rabies virus variants exist; raccoon RVV is enzootic along the eastern parts of the United States (from Florida to Maine), including several counties in northeast Ohio (1).

Additional Progress in the Development and Application of a Direct, Rapid Immunohistochemical Test for Rabies Diagnosis.

Laboratory-based surveillance is fundamental to effective rabies prevention and control. The direct fluorescent antibody (AB) test (FAT) is the gold standard for rabies diagnosis. Recently, additional tests besides the FAT have been developed, such as the direct rapid immunohistochemical test (DRIT).

Rabies surveillance in the United States during 2016.

OBJECTIVE To describe rabies and rabies-related events occurring during 2016 in the United States. DESIGN Observational study based on passive surveillance data. ANIMALS All animals submitted for rabies testing in the United States during 2016.

Enhanced Rabies Surveillance to Support Effective Oral Rabies Vaccination of Raccoons in the Eastern United States.

Enhanced rabies surveillance (ERS) is essential for sound oral rabies vaccination (ORV) decisions to prevent the spread of specific rabies virus variants in meso-carnivores and to achieve disease elimination. Use of a direct rapid immunohistochemistry test (dRIT) in North America for timely, accurate rabies diagnosis in the field has facilitated greater ERS emphasis since 2005. ERS used in tandem with exposure-based public health surveillance provides a comprehensive understanding of the geographic distribution of rabies as an aid to formulate effective management strategies for raccoons and other meso-carnivores.

Cost and Relative Value of Road Kill Surveys for Enhanced Rabies Surveillance in Raccoon Rabies Management.

Oral rabies vaccination (ORV) requires knowledge of the spatial-temporal distribution of rabies virus variants targeted for control. Rabies-exposure based public health surveillance alone may not provide a sound basis for ORV decisions. The value and cost of road kill surveys was evaluated for the late spring⁻early fall 2005⁻2007 as a part of enhanced rabies surveillance in northern New York, where raccoon rabies is enzootic and ORV has occurred since the late 1990s.

Seroprevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi in raccoons from Tennessee.

Trypanosoma cruzi is the etiologic agent of Chagas' disease. Autochthonous human and canine transmission of T. cruzi has been documented in Tennessee, but little is known about its ecology, including the prevalence of T.