Worldwide, canine rabies causes ~55,000 human deaths each year, most of them affecting rural populations and children in Asia and Africa.

• Endemic canine rabies has been eliminated in the United States and most other resource-rich countries but persists in bats, raccoons, skunks, and foxes. In 2012, there were 6162 confirmed animal cases of rabies in the United States.
• Bats (especially silver-haired and tricolored bats) cause most human cases in North America, although there may be no known history of a bat bite or other bat exposure.