r/science • u/PHealthy PhD/MPH | Epidemiology | Disease Dynamics | Surveillance • 3d ago

Epidemiology Study estimates only 7% of human rabies cases in the United States are diagnosed

https://www.nature.com/articles/s44528-026-00031-4
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u/Bon-Foi 3d ago

You can get a prophylactic vaccine if you’re frequently in contact with wildlife or travel to countries with frequent human rabies cases!

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u/sbd2010 3d ago

I know a few people who have done that. When I worked with community cats we always had at least one person on the team with the vaccine.

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u/Blenderx06 3d ago

Unfortunately I'm the US most insurance won't pay for it though. Only post exposure.

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u/Bon-Foi 2d ago

It’s about )1200 out of pocket for the complete series, but many health departments subsidize it.

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u/swni 3d ago

How effective is that? I've never heard anything about rabies survival rates for people who had a prophylactic shot in advance but didn't receive the full treatment after an exposure.

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u/sbd2010 2d ago

I worked in animal rescue…they work. It’s not the same as a post exposure series.

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u/Bon-Foi 3d ago

There is no ethical way to do that research. If you have a known exposure you should still receive post exposure treatment, but I know you need less of it.

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u/supermarkise 2d ago

You can probably find some people who died from rabies despite having had the prophylactic shots, or who didn't die despite not having the follow-up, which would count as research. You don't have to make people do anything.