Local health departments in North Carolina have completed 284 rabies exposure risk assessments tied to a mobile petting zoo and recommended post-exposure treatment for 213 people, the state health department reported, turning a single infected pen of baby goats into one of the largest mass rabies exposure responses of the year.
Days later, the CDC issued a national health advisory on rabies post-exposure prophylaxis, citing a 17 percent increase in rabies-related inquiries from July through August compared with the same period in 2025, including reports of mass exposure events. At least eight state health departments reported increased treatment use, administration errors, or both.
