Tag Archives: raccoon

Rabies: An Ancient Disease, Still Important Today

Rabies is an ancient and universally feared disease. The first known description of rabies occurred before 2300 BC in Egypt. Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, wrote about rabies around 350 BC. Louis Pasteur developed the first successful rabies vaccine in the late 1800s and widespread vaccination programs have greatly decreased rabies in domestic animals; although wild

World Rabies Day 2010

Tuesday September 28 is World Rabies Day. This is the 4th year of the event to raise awareness of and resources for rabies prevention and control. For most Americans, rabies is not an imminent threat, but worldwide, rabies is estimated to kill 55,000 humans annually. Over 99% of human cases are caused by the bite

Rabies in NYC

A map of rabies incidents in New York City
Rabies is on the move in New York City (NYC). Last summer, five rabid raccoons were identified in NYC – four in the Bronx and one in Manhattan’s Inwood Park. By fall, three rabid raccoons were identified in Central Park. This week, a rabid cat from the Riverdale section of the Bronx was identified. Unfortunately