In the summer of 2026, the CDC documented a 17 percent rise in rabies exposures across the United States during July and August — a surge that moved beyond seasonal expectation and reminded a modern nation that ancient dangers still move through the wild margins of human life. The near-total fatality of untreated rabies lent the alert a particular gravity, prompting federal and state health systems to mobilize emergency prophylaxis campaigns and, in Massachusetts, to drop edible vaccines from helicopters into the territories of animals that carry the virus. The event sits at the enduring inter
CDC reports 17% spike in rabies cases during summer months
Increased human rabies exposures requiring post-exposure prophylaxis treatment across the United States during the summer months.