Human rabies is present in 150 countries and territories and on all continents, except for Antarctica (1).
The disease exists in two major epidemiological settings:
The true burden of the disease is likely to be underestimated due to chronic underreporting and political neglect in many developing countries.
Globally, about 59,000 people die from rabies every year, many of whom are children (2). 95% of rabies cases in humans occur in Africa and Asia - 84% of these are in rural areas (3).
Human rabies is extremely rare in the UK. No human cases of rabies acquired from animals other than bats have been reported in the UK since 1902. (4) Six cases of rabies associated with animal exposures abroad have been reported between 2000-2018, the most recent case being a UK resident who became infected and died following a cat bite during a visit to Morocco. (5).
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