LOUISVILLE, Ky. — For the first time in decades, a Kentuckian has died from rabies.

The Kentucky Department for Public Health announced the northern Kentuckian death on Dec. 27, 2024.

What You Need To Know

  •  The Kentucky Department for Public Health said a northern Kentuckian died from rabies in Dec. 2024

  •  Experts say human cases of rabies are rare

  •  A pediatric infectious disease doctor said rabies comes from animal bites or scratches

  • Outside of December’s human rabies death, the last Kentucky resident to get rabies was in 1996

Experts say rabies is rare, but should be taken seriously

“Rabies is a viral infection that causes inflammation of the brain,” said Kris Bryant, Pediatric Infectious Disease Physician, Norton Children’s Hospital.

Rabies can be transmitted from wild animals through bites and scratches, even if they are minor, Bryant said.

“In Kentucky, the most common wild animals to carry rabies, are bats and skunks, but in other parts of the country, it may be carried in raccoons or foxes, truly, any mammal,” she said.

Since 2019, the Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness said at least 19 bats have tested positive for rabies in Jefferson County, with three in 2024.

Bryant said initial human symptoms of rabies are nonspecific, but people could experience flu-like symptoms, itching and tingling at the site of the bite and eventually brain inflammation.

“By the time you develop symptoms of rabies, the infection is nearly uniformly fatal. The good news is we have preventive strategies. Post-exposure prophylaxis with vaccine and rabies immune globulin is 100% effective,” Bryant said.

If you think you might have come in contact with rabies, Bryant said to connect with your primary health care provider and the health department.

“Let’s say you find a bat in your yard, and you handled the bat. The bat could potentially be rabid. That bat can be sent to the health department and be tested, and the health department can make a recommendation whether or not you need post-exposure prophylaxis,” she said.

 

Outside of December’s human rabies death, the Kentucky Department for Public Health said in a news release that the last Kentucky resident to get rabies was in 1996.

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife monitors potential cases of rabies. In 2023, it says it tested for over 360 suspected cases of rabies and 17 came back positive.