National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians, Inc. (NASPHV)

Recommendations and Reports
November 4, 2011 / 60(RR06);1-14

Corresponding preparer: Catherine M. Brown, DVM, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Hinton State Laboratory Institute, 305 South St., Jamaica Plain, MA 02130. Telephone: 617-983-6800; Fax: 617-983-6840; E-mail: Catherine.Brown@state.ma.us .

Summary

Rabies has one of the highest case-fatality ratios of any infectious disease. This report provides recommendations for public health officials, veterinarians, animal control officials, and other parties engaged in rabies prevention and control activities and should serve as the basis for standardizing procedures among jurisdictions. The recommendations regarding domestic animal vaccination, management of animals exposed to rabies, and management of animals that bite humans are the core elements of animal rabies control and human rabies prevention. These updated 2011 guidelines include the national case definition for animal rabies and clarify the role of the CDC rabies laboratory in providing confirmatory testing of suspect animals. The table of rabies vaccines licensed and marketed in the United States has been updated, and additional references have been included to provide scientific support for information in this report.

Introduction

Rabies is a fatal viral zoonosis and a serious public health problem (1). All mammals (referred to as animals in this report) are believed to be susceptible to the disease. Rabies is an acute, progressive encephalitis caused by a lyssavirus. Worldwide, rabies virus is the most important lyssavirus. In the United States, multiple rabies virus variants are maintained in wild mammalian reservoir populations such as raccoons, skunks, foxes, and bats. Although the United States has been declared free of canine rabies virus variant transmission, reintroduction of this variant is always a risk (2--6).
Rabies virus usually is transmitted from animal to animal through bites. The incubation period is highly variable. In domestic animals, the incubation period is generally 3--12 weeks but can range from several days to months, rarely exceeding 6 months (7). Rabies is communicable during the period of salivary shedding of rabies virus. Experimental and historic evidence indicates that dogs, cats, and ferrets shed virus a few days before clinical onset and during illness. Clinical signs of rabies and include inappetance, dysphagia, cranial nerve deficits, abnormal behavior, ataxia, paralysis, altered vocalization, and seizures. Progression to death is rapid. There are currently no known effective rabies antiviral drugs.
The recommendations in this compendium serve as a basis for animal rabies prevention and control programs throughout the United States and facilitate standardization of procedures among jurisdictions, thereby contributing to an effective national rabies control program.* The most current version replaces all previous versions. These recommendations do not supersede state and local laws or requirements. Principles of rabies prevention and control are detailed in Part I; recommendations for parenteral vaccination procedures are presented in Part II; and all animal rabies vaccines licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and marketed in the United States are listed and described in Part III.

Methods

NASPHV periodically updates the recommendations to prevent and control animal rabies. The revision includes reviewing recent literature, updating licensed vaccine product information as provided by the manufacturers, and soliciting input from NASPHV members and stakeholder groups. During July 15--16, 2010, NASPHV members and external expert consultants met in Atlanta, Georgia. A committee consensus was required to add or modify existing language or recommendations. After the meeting, the updated draft was circulated via e-mail for final review by all voting committee members.
The 2011 guidelines include several updates. First, the national case definition for animal rabies was added to clarify how rabies cases are defined for public health surveillance purposes. Second, the diagnostics section was expanded to 1) clarify that the CDC rabies laboratory is available for confirmatory testing and on an emergency basis to expedite exposure management decisions, 2) include information on testing methodology appropriate for field testing of surveillance specimens, and 3) clarify that no reliable antemortem rabies tests are available for use in animals. Third, the research section was expanded to include additional topics that warrant further study. Finally, the table of rabies vaccines licensed and marketed in the United States was updated, and additional references were included to provide scientific support for information provided in the recommendations.