09/28/2026
🐾🌎 It’s World Rabies Day! 🌎🐾
Rabies is often something we think we’ll never run into, but the reality is that it does exist here and in surrounding counties. We have good news though - it’s preventable!
Let’s learn some fun facts about Rabies:
⏳Rabies travels through the body via the nervous system and because of this, incubation can be anywhere from weeks to months.
🪦Once symptoms appear, rabies is essentially 100% fatal.
🦠Rabies testing can only be performed on a deceased animal and requires an intact brain. Therefore, if you suspect an animal is rabid, please contact us and we will safely handle the animal and brain to submit testing for you.
🦇In Kansas, bats and skunks have been the leading cause of most positive cases in 2026, with cats, cows, and horses also affected.
🤒Common symptoms include difficulty swallowing, sudden behavioral change such as aggression, muscle spasms, sudden death with no prior symptoms, and incoordination.
🩸Rabies is commonly transmitted through bites and scratches.
💉Around the world, domestic dogs account for the cause of 95% of human rabies deaths. In the United States, this is rare because of the effective rabies prevention and control programs that we have developed. A simple vaccine can prevent infection!
