An Introduction to Rabies in North Carolina

Welcome to the NC rabies webpages. Please refer to the links above for additional detailed information. Here is some quick reference information to help protect you from rabies.

Rabies is a deadly viral disease that is very common in wildlife in North Carolina. Because of this you should always leave wildlife alone. It is OK to look, or take pictures, but never try to handle wild animals. To learn more about wildlife in North Carolina, see the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission website (ncwildlife.org).

You know to leave wild animals alone, but your pets probably don’t know to leave them alone! In fact, dogs and cats often chase and get in fights with wild animals. Because they may be exposed to rabies, North Carolina law requires dogs and cats to be vaccinated against rabies. Not only does this protect them, but if they are protected against rabies, you will be too. Veterinarians can vaccinate your dog or cat against rabies. To find a veterinarian, see the N.C. Veterinary Medical Assocation's website. If your pet has been properly vaccinated against rabies, but comes in contact with a potentially rabid animal, it should receive a rabies vaccine booster shot within 72 hours of that contact.

Another way to protect your pets is to keep them indoors or on a leash. Don’t let them roam outside untended. Many people are bitten by stray dogs and cats each year and can be seriously injured. Unsupervised pets are also much more likely to fight with wild animals and be exposed to rabies.

In North Carolina, and across the United States, the domestic animal that is most commonly infected with rabies is the cat. Cats can also prey on our native wildlife if not supervised. In addition to these risks, there are several very deadly feline diseases (like feline immunodefiency virus or kitty AIDS) that your cat is likely to be exposed to while roaming outside. The American Bird Conservancy's Cats Indoors! website has helpful tips.

If you are bitten or scratched by any animal be sure to see your doctor right away. Because any mammal can transmit rabies, the animal that bit you may have to be evaluated or tested to see if it has rabies. If a dog or cat bit you, try and remember what the animal looks like and where it was so that animal control can find the dog or cat and put it into a 10-day confinement. Find your animal control agency.

Do not try to catch any wild animal that bites or scratches you. Call animal control .They may collect it for testing. If you find a bat in your home don’t let it outside. Instead leave the room it is in and close the doors. Call animal control so it can be caught for testing. Most human rabies cases in the United States are due to bat bites, which you may not recognize because their teeth are so small. Most bats do not carry rabies, in fact in NC only about three percent are infected with the disease. Don’t be afraid of bats, just be careful. Learn more about bats from Bat Conservation International.

In North Carolina we can test animals to see if they have rabies. However, we only test wild animals that have bitten a person or unvaccinated domestic animal or dogs and cats that have died within 10 days of biting a person. In 2006 alone the State Laboratory of Public Health tested over 4200 animals for rabies! Your animal control agency will have all the information needed to submit animals for rabies testing.

If you have any questions feel free to call us at 919-733-3410, or see the other links on this page.

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