Rabies Information

If You Are Bitten

If you are bit or scratched by a wild animal, immediately go to the nearest emergency department and seek medical attention. Based on you health history, your care may consist of: more than one dose of rabies vaccine, human rabies immunoglobulin (HRIG), antibiotics, and a tetanus (Tdap) vaccine. This will be determined by your healthcare provider. 

If you are a healthcare provider please visit the Resources for Health Care Providers page to learn more about animal bite and rabies exposure protocols.

What is Rabies?

Rabies is a deadly virus that is spread through the saliva of an infected animal, usually from an animal bite. Immediately go to the nearest emergency department and seek medical attention after a bite or suspected bite. Symptoms include fever, headache, excess salivation, muscle spasms, paralysis, and mental confusion. Once symptoms appear, it is almost always fatal.

  • High Risk Animals most likely to spread rabies are raccoons, skunks, bats, foxes, coyotes or groundhogs. 
  • Domestic Animals most likely to spread the virus are dogs, cats, or ferrets.
  • Low Risk Animals include hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, chipmunks, squirrels, rats, mice and rabbits. These animals are rarely infected and their bites/scratches almost never call for anti-rabies treatments. 

While rabies infections in humans are rare, they are a serious public health concern. Before 1960, hundreds of people in the U.S. died as a result of rabies infections. Increases in the number of vaccinated pets, availability of rabies-related medical care (post-exposure prophylaxis or PEP), and public health surveillance and intervention have helped to decrease the impact of rabies in the community and now fewer than 10 people die each year as a result of rabies infection1.

Three out of four people in the U.S. live in an area where wildlife carry rabies. Wildlife can transmit the infection to pets and to people. In the U.S., around 4,000 animal rabies cases are reported each year. In 2024, a total of 14 animals tested positive for rabies in Allegheny County. Of these, 8 (57%) were bats, 3 (21) were raccoons, 2 (14%) were cats, and 1 (7%) was a fox.

More than 4 million people in the U.S. report animal bites each year1. In 2024, the ACHD received 2,194 unique animal bite reports. Most animal bites in Allegheny County were associated with dogs (77%) and cats (21%). Bats were the most common wild animal listed in bite reports.

References

  1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Rabies in the United States: Protecting public health

How to Submit a Specimen

Preparing the Animal for Drop-off

  • ONLY handle the animal (dead or alive) with gloved hands. Dispose of gloves immediately after handling and wash your hands thoroughly.
  • ONLY dead animals will be accepted for testing, including bats. 
  • Double-bag the animal and place it in a solid sided container.
  • Keep the animal in a cool place for the time between collecting and submitting.
  • Take the animal to one of the two addresses listed below. Please pay particular attention to the drop-off times, they are not the same for both locations.

Clack Campus

Building 1
3901 Penn Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA, 15224
Map icon for linked directionsGoogle Directions

Phone
412-687-2243

Hours: 
Monday-Friday
7:00 am - 8:00 pm

Saturday-Sunday 
2:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Building 1 is located on the corner of Penn Avenue and 40th Street. Parking is available by entering the Clack Campus on 40th Street. Go to the back of Building 1 to drop off the specimen. When you arrive, call 412-350-4218 and the building guard will assist you.
This location will be closing on December 31, 2025.

Public Health Laboratory

119 Commonwealth Drive
Warrendale, PA, 15086
Map icon for linked directionsGoogle Directions

Phone
412-578-8070

Hours:
Monday-Friday
8:00 am – 3:30 pm

Drop off is located at the rear of the building at the loading docks. Go to the door next to the loading dock and press the buzzer to reach the staff. 

Rabies Prevention

The number of rabid raccoons identified in Allegheny County has declined over the past 20 years. This is largely due to the multi-state efforts of the rabies vaccination program for wild raccoons spearheaded by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services (USDA), who the ACHD partners with for this massive effort.

Learn more about Raccoon Rabies Vaccination Baiting.

Questions?

The Health Department is available for consultation 24/7.

  • Monday through Friday, from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm, call 412-578-8070
  • Evenings, weekends, and holidays, call 412-687-2243

 

    Back to top