Imported Human Rabies—California, 2008

Compared with rabies in developing countries, human rabies is rare in the US, but animal rabies is common. In the US, most human rabies cases are associated with rabid bats, whereas in developing countries, dogs are the most common reservoir and vector species. In March 2008, a case of imported human rabies in a recently arrived, undocumented Mexican immigrant was laboratory confirmed by public health officials in California. The rabies virus isolated from the patient was a previously uncharacterized variant most closely related to viruses found in Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis). The molecular and phylogenetic characterizations of this rabies virus variant have been described previously. Here, a report that summarizes the epidemiologic investigation and the ensuing public health response is detailed.