Why aren’t there more deaths in the US caused by rabies?

Question

All it takes is one bite from a rabid animal, with no follow up medical treatment, and death is virtually guaranteed. But there have been less than 100 deaths in the last century in the US. Why aren’t deaths more common, especially given the sheer volume of wilderness and wild animals in the US?

In: Planetary Science

Answer 1

Rabies is relatively rare. The CDC had a rabies project years ago where vaccine laden food was dropped all over the US.