World Rabies Day - September 28th

World Rabies Day is September 28th​.

​This event helps bring recognition to the disease. Rabies is a viral disease that kills both humans and animals. This disease can be spread by the bite of a rabid dog and if not immediately treated will result in a terrible death that cannot be prevented once symptoms start.

How to prevent rabies:
1. Get your dogs vaccinated yearly against rabies. Dogs should be reasonably healthy when they are vaccinated to maximize their immune response to the vaccine. It is the law that your dogs need to be vaccinated by six months old.
2, If you are bitten by any animal, you must immediately wash the wound for 15 minutes with soap and running water. Use a disinfectant on the wound and then immediately need to get to a clinic or emergency room for medical advice and treatment. 

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Below is a summary from the Iowa Department of Public Health on the positive rabies cases from 2008 to 2018.