US had 5 rabies deaths last year, highest total in a decade

Health officials say five Americans died of rabies last year — the largest number in a decade

Summary

Health officials say five Americans died of rabies last year — the largest number in a decadeNEW YORK – Five Americans died of rabies last year — the largest number in a decade — and health officials said Thursday that some of the people didn’t realize they had been infected or refused life-saving shots.
CDC officials said the deaths were tragic and could have been prevented.
In all three cases, people “either trivialized the exposure (to bats) or they didn’t recognize the severity of rabies,” said Ryan Wallace, a CDC rabies expert who co-authored the report.
There were no rabies deaths reported in 2019 or 2020.
The last time five U.S. rabies deaths were reported in a single year was 2011, CDC officials said.