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1994 Rabies Annual Summary

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• Introduction
• Tests Conducted
• Confirmed Rabies Cases
• Bat Rabies
• 1994 Rabies Incidence Map (GIF 176k)

Introduction

The raccoon rabies outbreak that has affected the state since 1990 continued to spread steadily during 1994, while it persisted as a major public health problem in previously affected areas. The disease moved from 10 to 40 miles north, east and west from the previous front during the year, spreading into five additional counties. By the end of the year, rabies associated with this outbreak had been reported from 779 New York towns in 54 counties. Only Kings County, Long Island and five northern counties have yet to be affected by this intense outbreak.

Meanwhile, rabies in bats was once again geographically widespread in the state. While there were no cases of rabies associated with the red fox rabies outbreak that had affected northern counties from 1990 to 1993, the disease persisted in foxes in bordering areas of Vermont and Quebec.

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Tests Conducted

During 1994 the Wadsworth Center Rabies Laboratory examined 8,732 animals from all of New York State and the New York City Rabies Laboratory examined 714 from the five boroughs of New York City. The 9,446 animals examined was more than three times the annual average for the five-year period preceding the spread of raccoon rabies into New York in 1990. The total was down somewhat from the record total of 11,896 recorded in 1993.

Most of the difference is the result of greatly reduced submissions (1277 fewer) from Albany County, where uniquely aggressive surveillance activity existed when the outbreak peaked there during 1993. The 1994 total brings the number of animal rabies examinations since 1991 to a four-year total of 37,793.

The Wadsworth Center Rabies Laboratory also performed 1282 rabies antibody assays on human serum to determine the need for vaccine booster injections. This was the largest annual number of rabies antibody assays recorded for the state.

The 2773 cats examined constituted 29.4% of all animals tested for rabies, and 64.7% of all domestic animal examinations. The 2406 raccoons tested accounted for 25.5% of the animals examined. Among animals submitted to the Wadsworth Center, bites to humans had been reported in 29.9% of all animals received, in 49.3% of domestic animal submissions, and 9.6% of wild animals examined. Non-bite human contact was reported in 37.7% of submissions, and contact with a domestic animal in 43.6%. The laboratory also tested 2228 animals with no reported contacts, representing 25.5% of all examinations.

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Confirmed Rabies Cases

There were 1585 laboratory confirmed rabid animals in New York State in 1994, among the 9,446 examined (16.8% positive). The number rabid was 420 (36%) greater than the annual average for the previous five-year period, but 1,162 less than the national record established in New York in 1993. The decline from the 1993 total is largely the result of 778 fewer cases in Albany County.

Among 5162 wild animals examined, 1532 (29.7%) were rabid. Rabid raccoons (1284) accounted for 83.8% of rabid wildlife and 81% of all rabid animals. Other rabid wildlife included 170 skunks, 42 bats, 12 woodchucks, 11 red foxes, 11 gray foxes, a beaver, a whitetail deer, a fisher, and an opossum. The single case of rabies in a whitetail deer was remarkably fewer than the 18 cases recorded in 1993. The number of deer examined was down 62.4%, from 295 to 111.

Among the 2109 raccoons tested at the Wadsworth Center, 967 (45.9%) reportedly had contact with a human, 118 (5.6%) had contact with a cat, and 1294 (61.3%) contact with a dog. Among the 1284 rabid raccoons, 575 (44.8%) reportedly had human contact, 84 (6.5%) contact with a cat, and 943 (73.4%) contact with a dog. It is noteworthy that while the overall positivity among raccoons was 1284/2109, or 60.9%, the positivity among raccoons in contact with dogs was 943/1294, or 72.9%.

Rabies was confirmed in 52 domestic animals among 4284 examined (1.2%). Rabies was again far more common in cats (31) than in dogs (4) in 1994, as it has been each year and cumulatively (131 to 33) since 1990. Rabies in cats accounted for 59.6% of all domestic animal rabies in the state. Other rabid domestic animals included 9 cattle, 7 horses and a rabbit.

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Bat Rabies

The 42 rabid bats were typically widespread across the state, with at least one case occurring in 35 towns from 22 counties. Overall, 4.2% of the 1031 bats examined during 1994 were rabid. The big brown bat accounted for 572 (55.5%) of the bats tested and 33 (78.6%) of the rabid bats. Other rabid bats included 3 little brown bats, 2 keen's brown bats, 1 red bat and 22 unidentified to species. The positivity rate among big brown bats was 5.8%, while it was 2.0 % for other species combined. These data are remarkably similar to the cumulative data from 17,366 bats tested at the Wadsworth Center Rabies Laboratory since 1981: 733 rabid for an overall positivity of 4.2%; big brown bats accounted for 59% of the bats submitted and 84% of the rabid bats; positivity among big brown bats was 6.0%; 1.7% were positive among other species combined.

Among the 1011 bats received for examination at the Wadsworth Center during 1994, 407 (40.2%) had reported contact with a human, 509 (50.3%) had cat contact, and 69 (6.8%) contact with a dog. Among the 42 rabid bats, 17 (40.4%) had human contact, 14 (33.3%) contact with a cat, and 5 (11.9%) had dog contact.

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(New York City data provided by Dr. Igbal Poshni, Director, Virus Laboratory, New York City Department of Health)