Utah annual rabies surveillance report
2022
Summary
In 2022, out of 128 bats successfully tested, 13 (10%) tested positive for rabies virus. Twelve of these positive bats were tested at the Utah Public Health Laboratory (UPHL), and one bat was collected in Utah and tested at California’s County of Orange Health Care Agency Public Health Laboratory.
These 13 rabid bats resulted in 14 people and 17 pets with a confirmed rabies exposure. Positive bats were identified in Davis (2), Garfield (1), Kane (1), Salt Lake (3), Utah (2), Washington (2), and Weber (2) counties. The species of these bats were: Mexican free-tailed (5, 38%), Myotis (3, 23%), Big brown (3, 23%), Pallid (1, 8%), and unknown (1, 8%–species information was not available for the bat tested in Orange County).
In 2022, 363 animals were submitted to the UPHL for rabies testing. Of those submissions, 333 were successfully tested. Thirty test submissions were canceled due to poor specimen quality. The number of each animal species tested is listed below. The percentage of the total tests for each species is indicated in parentheses.
- 127 bats (38%)
- 85 dogs (26%)
- 67 cats (20%)
- 30 raccoons (9%)
- 4 foxes (1%)
- 3 skunks (1%)
- 17 other species (5%)
- These species included coyote (2), gopher (2), mink (2), mountain lion (2), beaver (1), bobcat (1), ferret (1), horse (1), otter (1), rabbit (1), rat (1), squirrel (1), and vole (1).
Background: Rabies is a preventable viral disease of mammals most often transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal. In Utah, all rabies testing for animals is performed at the UPHL. Animals believed to be a risk for rabies transmission are prioritized for testing. Nearly all of those have potentially exposed a human or domestic animal. Rabies is primarily found in bats in Utah. In each of the past 5 years (2018–2022), an average of 14.2 bats tested positive for rabies. One positive fox was identified in 2021, one fox in 2020, one skunk in 2014, and one fox in 2006. All 4 of these terrestrial mammals were infected with a bat variant of rabies virus. Because human rabies is nearly always fatal, it is critical to report all possible rabies exposures to public health to ensure life-saving postexposure prophylaxis is provided when necessary.