The Centers for Disease Control in the United States is reporting a 17% increase in rabies-related inquiries in 2026 (1), and reported rabies exposures are up.  Four baby goats at a mobile petting zoo in North Carolina tested positive for the disease after a wild skunk got into their enclosure. Nearly 300 people across multiple counties, including children and residents of an assisted living facility, were evaluated for possible exposure from that event alone (2). In Maryland in July, there were two reports of two rabid beaver attacks (2). In New Jersey, a man was bitten on the leg by a rabid raccoon, and in New Hampshire, a mystery animal thought to be either a gray fox or a fisher cat attacked three people in three separate attacks (2). The increase in incidents is not restricted to the United States either, with seals in Cape Town, South Africa reportedly contracting the disease from land mammals with ongoing seal-to-seal transmission noted for the first time (3).

These recent developments underscore the need for quality rabies testing.

Continue reading “Taming the Bite: How Maxwell Takes the Fear Out of Rabies Testing”