Most people see rabies as an outdated disease — rare, distant, and unlikely to impact daily life. In many ways, that view is correct.
“Dogs and cats must receive their first rabies vaccine at four months of age, followed by a booster one year later,” said Dr. Elizabeth Vodevic of Plantation Animal Hospital in Fleming Island. “After that, vaccinations are required every one to three years, depending on the vaccine. Florida does not accept rabies titers — a blood test that measures antibodies — as a substitute for required vaccination.”
That routine schedule — repeated quietly in veterinary offices across Florida — is one of the main reasons rabies remains uncommon in the United States today.
Rabies is a serious viral disease that is most often spread through bites or scratches from infected animals. Still, human rabies deaths in the United States are rare, usually fewer than ten each year. This rarity is not by chance. It results from vaccination laws, veterinary care, public health monitoring, and shared community habits working together.
As warmer months arrive — bringing more people outdoors to parks, neighborhoods, trails, and campsites — interactions between people, pets, and wildlife naturally grow. Understanding how rabies spreads and how to prevent it helps keep those shared spaces safe.
Shared Habits That Keep Communities Safe
• Avoid contact with wild animals, especially bats, which are common carriers of rabies.
• Observe wildlife from a safe distance and never feed or touch animals.
• Supervise children closely and teach them not to handle unfamiliar or wild animals.
• Keep pets up to date on rabies vaccinations.
• Carry a basic first-aid kit and know how to respond to animal bites or scratches.
In Florida, rabies is primarily linked to bats, raccoons, foxes, skunks, and feral cats and dogs. Opossums tend to have a lower body temperature than many other mammals, which may reduce the likelihood of infection in them, and reported cases are extremely rare.
Why Prevention Matters
Rabies is almost always deadly once symptoms show, but it can be completely prevented if exposure is treated quickly. This highlights the importance of seeking early medical care and focusing on prevention.
When rabies infects a person, symptoms may not appear for weeks or months as the virus spreads through the nervous system. Early signs often look like the flu, but the disease can quickly worsen to serious neurological issues. Once symptoms appear, rabies is almost always deadly.
However, prompt wound cleaning and post-exposure prophylaxis, which includes immunization, can prevent the disease if given soon after exposure.
A Quiet System at Work
While rabies has been largely controlled in the United States through vaccination, education, and access to medical care, it remains a serious issue in other parts of the world.
Worldwide, rabies causes tens of thousands of deaths each year, mostly in areas where pet vaccination and prompt medical treatment are limited.
Rabies prevention works best when it functions as a shared system — supported by vaccination, education, veterinary care, and timely medical response. These measures often go unnoticed but quietly protect both people and animals. By understanding how prevention works and respecting safe boundaries around wildlife, communities help keep rabies out of the spotlight of everyday life.
By: Sandra Hartley, March 9, 2026
