You should report animal bites and other exposures like scratches from wild animals and domestic pets to prevent rabies. Rabies is a deadly but preventable virus. It spreads primarily by the bite of an infected mammal.
A rabid animal can pass the virus to an animal or human when a bite or scratch breaks the skin. Although more rare, rabies may spread from an infected animal’s saliva or brain material when there is contact with a person’s eyes, nose, mouth, or an open wound.
In the United States, the rabies virus is found mainly in wild animals, such as:
- Bats.
- Raccoons.
- Groundhogs.
- Foxes.
- Skunks.
Rabies also has been identified in stray and feral cats, and in some domestic pets like dogs, cats, and ferrets. Small rodents like squirrels and mice are not likely to spread rabies to humans and animals.
A note about bats: Bat bites may go unnoticed due to their small teeth. You should report an animal exposure if a bat was in the room with:
- A child.
- A person who is mentally/physically disabled.
- A person who was asleep or unconscious.
- A person who was intoxicated.
How
If you were bitten or had other contact with a wild animal
- Call the Philadelphia Animal Care & Control Team (ACCT Philly) at (267) 385-3800. ACCT Philly will capture and test the animal for rabies. Avoid damaging the animal’s head. The head is sent to the lab for testing.
- Take care to prevent more bites.
- Immediately wash the wound with lots of soap and running water.
- Get medical attention. Go to your family doctor or the nearest emergency room. In Philadelphia, medical professionals must report the animal bite to the Department of Public Health.
- If you’re not sure if you were bitten, you should still seek medical attention or contact the Acute Communicable Disease Program at (215) 685-6748.
- This situation may occur if you have been exposed to a bat, because you often cannot feel a bat bite you or see the marks from a bite. The Health Department will test any bat that has bitten you, any bat that was in a room with a child or someone who is mentally/physically disabled, and any bat that was present in a room where people were asleep/unconscious or intoxicated.
If you were bitten or had another exposure to a pet dog, cat, or ferret
- Get the pet owner’s name, address, and telephone number. Find out if the animal has a current rabies vaccination and write down the rabies tag number.
- Immediately wash the wound with lots of soap and running water.
- Get medical attention. Go to your family doctor or the nearest emergency room. Medical professionals in Philadelphia must report the animal bite to the Department of Public Health. You can also report the bite yourself by calling (215) 685-6748.
If you were bitten or had another animal exposure, have this information ready when you call:
- Description of the animal.
- If it is a pet, who owns it and where it lives.
- How the bite or other contact occurred.
- Whether local residents have seen the animal in the area before and what direction it was traveling.
- How the animal behaved.
Treatment for those exposed to rabies
For domestic animals whose location is known, rabies treatment depends on the health of an animal 10 days after the exposure. If the pet dog, cat, or ferret is healthy and alive 10 days after the incident, the person scratched or bitten does not need rabies vaccine. The Department of Public Health will check with the pet owner to see if the pet is healthy after 10 days.
If you had contact with an animal that may be rabid or cannot be located, you should get a series of four vaccinations and an initial dose of rabies immune globulin. Persons who have weakened immune systems will need a fifth dose. These are effective at preventing rabies infection. Most local emergency departments have the rabies vaccine and immune globulin. If you don’t have insurance or are having difficulty getting this treatment, call (215) 685-6742.
Protect yourself and reduce your risk of rabies when interacting with community cats
It is estimated that upwards of 400,000 cats live outdoors in Philadelphia. The blanket term “community cats” applies to indoor/outdoor pet cats, abandoned stray cats and feral cats with little or no human contact. Caring for community cats can pose a public health risk to residents if colonies are not properly managed. Placing food outdoors for cats can attract wildlife known to carry and transmit rabies, including raccoons and skunks.
The most effective and humane solution is Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), which involves trapping and transporting community cats to clinics for spay/neuter surgery and vaccinations before returning them to their outdoor homes. Community cats that have received these services can easily be identified by a left ear tip.
Contact ACCT for assistance or referral to other low-cost clinics in the Philadelphia area. Visit ACCT’s community cat webpage for more information.