Is rabies an emerging infectious disease? Yes. Largely eliminated from dogs by vaccination programs, the virus has re-emerged as a widespread problem among wild mammals, particularly raccoons, skunks, foxes, coyotes, and bats. There has also been a slight but significant rise in the annual number of cases in humans. From 1981 to 1993, the number of rabies cases ranged from 0 to 3. There were 6 cases in 1994 and 4 each in 1995, 1996, and 1997. Despite an outbreak of rabies in raccoons on the East Coast, there have been no reports of humans becoming infected by raccoons. Most of the new cases in humans involve bats.
