Rabies - Information for Public, Providers and Veterinarians
Rabies is a deadly virus spread to people from the saliva (spit) of infected (rabid) animals. The rabies virus spreads from animals to people when a rabid animal bites or scratches a person, breaking the skin.
In people, rabies can be prevented by getting treated after exposure; otherwise, rabies is fatal. For that reason, post-exposure rabies prophylaxis (PEP) is indicated after a rabid animal bites or scratches a person to stop the virus from infecting the body.
All warm-blooded animals (mammals) can get rabies. If an animal has hair or fur, it is a mammal.
Animals in Iowa are infected with rabies every year; some animals are more likely to be infected than others. For example, wild animals (especially skunks and bats) most often get rabies in Iowa. All domestic animals (such as dogs, cats, horses, and cattle) can be infected. Smaller mammals such as squirrels, mice, chipmunks, and rabbits rarely get rabies. Birds, turtles, lizards, fish, and insects cannot get rabies.
How do you get rabies?
Anyone can get rabies after contact with a rabid animal. Rabies is spread when a rabid animal's saliva gets through a person's skin via bites; contact to open wounds; or contact with the eyes, nose, or mouth. The virus can also spread to people when a rabid animal’s brain or spinal cord tissue comes into contact with a person’s open wounds, eyes, nose, or mouth.
In addition, people found in rooms with bats that are unable to state, “I know the bat did not touch me,” may have been exposed to rabies. This includes finding a bat in the room of a young child, toddler, or baby, a person with a learning disability, a sleeping person, or an inebriated person. If anyone comes across a bat in your home, the following guidance can walk you through how to capture the bat and submit it for rabies testing:
Frequently Asked Questions about Bats and Rabies: English, Spanish
What should you do if you are bitten by an animal?
Immediately wash the bite or wound thoroughly with soap and water. Contact your health care provider to discuss whether you need rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP).
How can rabies be prevented?
Vaccination of pets against rabies is the best way to reduce human exposure.
Iowa Code 351.33 requires dogs over 6 months of age to maintain vaccination against rabies.
Avoid contact with all wild animals.
Do not keep wild animals as pets.
Control of stray animals can decrease both animal and human exposure to rabies.
Questions
For non-urgent questions email rabies@hhs.iowa.gov and someone will respond to you within 24 hours or next business day.
Health Care Providers
There was a bite from an animal to a human.
There was saliva/neural tissue contact from an animal to a human’s open cut or mucous membrane.
A bat is found in the same room with a sleeping person, an unattended child, an intoxicated person, or anyone unable to confirm that the bat did NOT touch OR bite them.
Other contact, such as contact with blood, urine, skunk spray, or feces, does not constitute an exposure and is not an indication for prophylaxis.
Iowa HHS provides consultation to help health care providers determine whether a potential exposure occurred. Rabies exposure consultation can be obtained from the Center for Acute Disease Epidemiology:
During business hours call: (800) 362-2736
After hours call: (515) 323-4360 (the Iowa State Patrol will contact the person on call)
See veterinarians section.
If a person that has not been previously vaccinated is exposed to a rabid animal or animal suspected of having rabies, they should receive Human Rabies Immune-Globulin (HRIG) on day 0, plus a series of Human Rabies Vaccines (HRV) on days 0, 3, 7, and 14 (immune compromised patients should receive a 5th dose on day 28 and subsequent titer check).
If a person previously vaccinated with Human Rabies Vaccine [completed the series of the three vaccine pre-exposure prophylaxis or the series of four/five vaccines and Human Rabies Immune Globulin post exposure prophylaxis (using Human Diploid Cell Vaccine, Rabies Vaccine Adsorbed, or Purified Chick Embryo Vaccines)] is exposed to a rabid animal or animal suspected of having rabies, they do not need Human Rabies Immune Globulin BUT still need Human Rabies Vaccines (HRV) on days 0 and 3.
Detailed guidance, including PEP administration tables, information on biologics, and serology testing are available in the Iowa HHS Rabies Chapter. Please refer to this Chapter when administering PEP to a patient.
Other recommended measures include:
Immediately and thoroughly wash all bite wounds and scratches with soap and water.
Tetanus prophylaxis should be considered.
Risk of bacterial infections should be assessed and addressed.
Veterinarians
There was a bite from a suspected or confirmed rabid animal.
There was saliva/neural tissue contact from a suspected or confirmed rabid animal to another animal’s open cut or mucous membrane.
Other contact, such as contact with blood, urine, skunk spray, or feces, does not constitute an exposure.
Iowa HHS provides consultation to help veterinarians determine whether a potential exposure occurred as well as the appropriate confinement or quarantine period. Rabies exposure consultation can be obtained from the Center for Acute Disease Epidemiology:
During business hours call: (800) 362-2736
After hours call: (515) 323-4360 (the Iowa State Patrol will contact the person on call)
State and local laws require that dogs, cats and ferrets that have bitten or exposed a human to their saliva be confined and observed for 10 days regardless of their rabies vaccination status. If at any time during the confinement period, a dog, cat, or ferret shows signs of rabies, the animal should be immediately euthanized and tested. Please see the following list to determine who is responsible for enforcement in your jurisdiction.
When domestic animals (pets, livestock) are potentially exposed to rabies, they should be monitored under the supervision of their owner and a veterinarian for signs of rabies. If the attacking animal is not available for observation or testing to rule out the risk of rabies, the monitoring time for the attacked (victim) animal is longer than 10 days. The following table provides guidance on the appropriate length of time to observe, confine, or quarantine an animal that was exposed to rabies: Recommended Rabies Observation, Confinement, and Quarantine Periods Chart
There are two laboratories in Iowa that provide animal rabies testing services and testing requires examination of the animal’s brain, so the animal should be euthanized without damaging the head. Complete submission guidelines are available on each laboratory’s respective webpage.
If a person or domestic animal had direct contact with a suspected or known rabid animal, the animal can be tested at the submitter’s expense. Animals not known to have exposed anyone can also be tested for diagnostic purposes.
If a person had direct contact with a suspected or known rabid animal, the animal can be tested at no cost. If a pet had contact with the animal, the animal can be tested at the submitter’s expense.
Rabies preexposure prophylaxis is a 2-dose (days 0 and 7) intramuscular rabies vaccination series. Detailed guidance, including PrEP tables, information on biologics, and serology testing are available in the Iowa HHS Rabies Chapter. Veterinarians should refer to this Chapter when seeking PrEP from a healthcare provider.
CDC experts in the Poxvirus and Rabies Branch conduct an annual assessment of individual countries' rabies statuses worldwide. Assessments help establish recommendations for international travelers by evaluating the risk of rabies exposure and access to high-quality postexposure prophylaxis (PEP, including rabies immunoglobulin and vaccine) in each destination country. While the U.S. has been free of dog rabies since 2007, rabies in dogs still accounts for most human cases of rabies worldwide. Rabies status information by county can be found at Rabies Status: Assessment by Country | Rabies | CDC.
