FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Oct. 1, 2025

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) has launched a new webpage that shares positive rabies cases in animals with the public. The launch of this new webpage coincides with World Rabies Day, observed each year on Sept. 28 to raise awareness about rabies prevention and honor Louis Pasteur, the developer of the rabies vaccine.

DPH will routinely post positive animal tests by geographic area to provide statewide rabies incidence and trend data. The new reporting format can be found on DPH’s Data, Reports on Rabies webpage.

“Posting all animal rabies data and related information in one place on the DPH website will give the public a comprehensive look at the presence of rabid animals where exposures to humans or pets may have occurred,” said Dr. Linda Bell, state epidemiologist and Health Programs Branch director. “In addition, the webpage provides updated information on single cases weekly and features current and past data related to cases statewide to give the public information about the likely risk of exposure. More importantly, it will encourage people to take steps to protect their pets and themselves from rabies.”

Keeping pets up to date on their rabies vaccinations and avoiding contact with wildlife are the best ways to keep you and your family safe. It is important for anyone who might have been exposed to rabies to contact a health care provider as quickly as possible.

DPH investigates all animal bite reports and considers each a potential exposure until proven otherwise. Also, the DPH rabies prevention and control program maintains effective rabies control interventions, including:

• Effective surveillance to track animals involved in human and pet exposures
• Implementing appropriate quarantine lengths for animals exposed to known or suspected rabid animals
• Facilitating the submission of animals involved in human and pet exposures to the public health lab for rabies testing
• Promoting and facilitating rabies vaccination programs for pets
• Promoting public rabies prevention education
• Providing consultation and guidance about whether post-exposure prophylaxis is indicated for a human following an animal bite or other potential exposure

In 2024, DPH’s Rabies Program conducted 15,209 rabies investigations, with 1,440 specimens being submitted to the agency’s public health laboratory. Of those, there were 81 lab-confirmed cases of rabies in animals statewide. For more information on rabies visit dph.sc.gov/rabies or cdc.gov/rabies.

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