Annual rabies report
Utah Department of Health and Human Services
2025
Background
Rabies is a preventable viral disease that affects the brain and spinal cord of mammals. It is most often transmitted through the bite of an infected animal. In the US, wildlife is the main reservoir of rabies. In Utah, all rabies testing for animals is performed at the Utah Public Health Laboratory (UPHL). Animals suspected of having rabies, or that have exposed a human or domestic animal, are prioritized for testing. Over the past 5 years (2020–2024), an average of 20 animals tested positive for rabies each year. Most of these animals were bats, which are the main wildlife reservoir of rabies in Utah. Because human rabies is nearly always fatal once symptoms appear, it is critical to report all possible rabies exposures to public health to ensure life-saving treatment is provided when necessary. No human cases of rabies have been reported in the state since 2018; however, an average of 1–2 cases are reported in the US every year.
Introduction
In 2025, 545 animals were submitted for rabies testing. Of those submissions, 24 were positive, 487 were negative, and 34 could not be tested because of poor specimen quality. All 24 rabid animals were bats. A total of 240 bats were tested for rabies virus, resulting in a 10.0% test positivity rate.
These 24 rabid bats resulted in at least 19 people and 26 pets being exposed to rabies. Positive bats were identified across the state in Box Elder (1), Davis (4), Juab (1), Millard (1), Morgan (1), Salt Lake (8), Sanpete (2), Uintah (1), Washington (2), and Weber (3) counties.
Weekly rabies activity
Most rabid animals in Utah are detected during the months of June–October. In 2025, the first and last rabid animal detections were on May 28 and October 8, respectively. Figure 1 shows the number of rabid animals detected each week in 2025 compared to the average number of detections for that week over the past 5 years (2020–2024).
Figure 1. Epidemiological curve, 2025 vs. 5 year average
Summary of rabies testing by local health jurisdiction
In Utah, there are 13 local health jurisdictions. In 2025, specimens were submitted from every health jurisdiction except San Juan County. Table 1 shows the total number of specimens tested from each health jurisdiction and a breakdown of results. Salt Lake County submitted the most specimens for testing. Figure 2 shows where the positive animals were found. Salt Lake County had the largest number of rabid animals detected (8). No rabid animals were detected in Southeast Utah, Summit County, Tooele County, Utah County, or in Wasatch County despite submitting specimens for testing.
Table 1. Positive, negative, and unsatisfactory results by local health jurisdiction, 2025
| Jurisdiction | Positive | Negative | Unsatisfactory | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bear River (Cache, Rich, and Box Elder counties) | 1 | 28 | 4 | 33 |
| Central Utah (Juab, Millard, Piute, Sanpete, Sevier, and Wayne counties) | 4 | 14 | 2 | 20 |
| Davis County | 4 | 91 | 3 | 98 |
| Salt Lake County | 8 | 184 | 3 | 195 |
| San Juan County | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Southeast Utah (Carbon, Emery, and Grand counties) | 0 | 13 | 3 | 16 |
| Southwest Utah (Beaver, Garfield, Iron, Kane, and Washington counties) | 2 | 29 | 7 | 38 |
| Summit County | 0 | 15 | 0 | 15 |
| Tooele County | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| TriCounty (Daggett, Duchesne, and Uintah counties) | 1 | 12 | 0 | 13 |
| Utah County | 0 | 50 | 5 | 55 |
| Wasatch County | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Weber-Morgan (Weber and Morgan counties) | 4 | 34 | 5 | 43 |
| Unknown | 0 | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| Total | 24 | 487 | 34 | 545 |
Figure 2. Map of rabid animal detections by local health jurisdiction, 2025
Species of animals tested at UPHL
All specimens that tested positive for rabies in 2025 were bats. A breakdown by species is shown below in Table 2. Note that some Myotis bats were not identified past the genus level. Mexican Free-tailed bats made up the largest share of tested and rabid bats.
Table 2. Rabid bats by species, 2025
| Bat species | Positive | Total tested | Percent positivity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Brown Bat (Eptesicus fuscus) | 4 | 46 | 8.7% |
| Big Free-tailed Bat (Nyctinomops macrotis) | 0 | 1 | 0.0% |
| California Myotis (Myotis californicus) | 1 | 5 | 20.0% |
| Hoary Bat (Lasiurus cinereus) | 2 | 4 | 50.0% |
| Little Brown Myotis (Myotis lucifugus) | 1 | 20 | 5.0% |
| Long-eared Myotis (Myotis evotis) | 1 | 9 | 11.1% |
| Long-legged myotis (Myotis volans) | 0 | 2 | 0.0% |
| Mexican Free-tailed Bat (Tadarida brasiliensis) | 8 | 63 | 12.7% |
| Myotis (Myotis spp.) | 1 | 17 | 5.9% |
| Pallid Bat (Antrozous pallidus) | 0 | 2 | 0.0% |
| Silver-haired Bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans) | 5 | 29 | 17.2% |
| Spotted Bat (Euderma maculatum) | 0 | 1 | 0.0% |
| Townsend’s Big-eared Bat (Corynorhinus townsendii) | 0 | 6 | 0.0% |
| Western Pipistrelle (Pipistrellus hesperus) | 0 | 4 | 0.0% |
| Western Red Bat (Lasiurus blossevillii) | 1 | 4 | 25.0% |
| Western small-footed myotis (Myotis ciliolabrum) | 0 | 1 | 0.0% |
| Yuma Myotis (Myotis yumanensis) | 0 | 8 | 0.0% |
| Unknown | 0 | 18 | 0.0% |
Any animal that exposes a person or pet or is suspected of having rabies is tested for rabies at UPHL. Table 3 provides a list of all species submitted for testing in 2025. Nearly half (44.0%) of all animals submitted were bats. Cats and dogs combined also made up a large proportion of animals submitted (45.5%).
Table 3. Species of all animals submitted for testing, 2025
| Animal type | Total tested | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Bat | 240 | 44.0% |
| Bear | 1 | 0.2% |
| Cat | 100 | 18.3% |
| Coyote | 1 | 0.2% |
| Dog | 148 | 27.2% |
| Fox | 2 | 0.4% |
| Horse | 2 | 0.4% |
| Pig | 1 | 0.2% |
| Raccoon | 44 | 8.1% |
| Skunk | 6 | 1.1% |
Historical trends in positive rabies detections
Figure 3 shows the number and percentage of bats that tested positive and the total number tested each year during 2015–2025. The number of bats testing positive for rabies in a single year over the previous 10 years has ranged from 12–31. As the number of bats submitted for testing has steadily increased, the percentage of bats testing positive has decreased. 2025 was notable for the largest number of bats ever submitted for testing (240), although rabid bat detections were only slightly above average (24).
Figure 3. Percent positivity among bats, 2015–2025
Currently, the bat rabies virus variant is the only rabies virus variant known to be in Utah. Occasionally, terrestrial mammals test positive for rabies in Utah. In recent years, there have been four wild animals (3 foxes and 1 skunk) that tested positive. These animals were likely bitten by a rabid bat, as additional testing revealed they were infected with a bat virus variant, which aligns with our current understanding that bats are the main rabies reservoir in Utah. Table 4 lists all species of animal known to test positive for rabies in Utah and the year of most recent detection as of December 31, 2025. Animals not included on this list have no recorded positive detections in the state.
Table 4. Most recent year of positive rabies detection by species (as of December 31, 2025)
| Species | Year of last positive |
|---|---|
| Bat | 2025 |
| Fox | 2021 |
| Skunk | 2014 |
| Cat | 1995 |
| Dog | 1993 |