California logs most rabid animals since 1998 — and experts don't know why

California has confirmed at least 368 rabid animals in 2026 — the highest annual total since 1998 — and the number that most unnerved public-health officials wasn't a bat or a skunk. It was a raccoon. Then a second one. Both found in the same Westlake Village neighborhood of Los Angeles County, both carrying rabies for the first time in that county since 1973.

The statewide tally, which surpasses all 342 cases recorded in 2025, is driven primarily by bats, with smaller numbers of skunks, foxes, and cats also testing positive, according to SFGate. But the raccoon cases — and the broader spike — have left state and federal experts wrestling with a question they cannot yet answer: is rabies genuinely surging in California wildlife, or are better public awareness, more testing, and higher reporting rates simply making a long-standing problem more visible?

The detection of rabies in another raccoon is an important reminder to never touch, handle, or feed any wild animals, even when they appear healthy.— Dr. Muntu Davis, LA County Health Officer

The first rabid raccoon was found in early October in a Westlake Village backyard. Within weeks, a second appeared in the same general area — this one sick and aggressive. Two people at a nearby worksite may have been exposed and are receiving follow-up care, the county Department of Public Health said. The first raccoon tested positive for a bat rabies variant; testing on the second was ongoing.

The last non-bat animal confirmed rabid in Los Angeles County before this year was a skunk infected with the bat variant in Long Beach in 2014. A raccoon-specific skunk strain of rabies circulated in the county decades ago but has not been detected since 1979, according to the county Department of Public Health.

In Los Angeles County alone, 77 rabid bats have been confirmed so far in 2026 — a new county record — continuing a steady upward trend that the county's own Veterinary Public Health Team says has been building for more than a decade. The county began testing bats for rabies in 1961. About 15–20% of bats tested locally carry rabies, compared with less than 1% of healthy bats thought to carry the virus. Peak season typically falls in late summer, according to the county.

Nationally, the picture is similarly murky. Rabies exposure inquiries and use of post-exposure prophylaxis — the vaccine course given after a potential exposure — have also risen across the country, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. Possible contributing factors discussed by researchers include climate-related shifts in bat populations or viral circulation, but no cause has been established. National data analysis lags, making it difficult to draw firm conclusions.

No human rabies cases have been confirmed in California in recent years, according to the Chronicle. That is partly a testament to how effective post-exposure treatment is: once clinical symptoms appear, rabies is almost always fatal, but timely administration of post-exposure prophylaxis is highly effective at preventing the disease from developing, county health officials said.

Health officials are urging residents across the state to treat any contact with wild mammals — raccoons, skunks, opossums, coyotes, bats — as a potential exposure requiring immediate medical advice. Rabid bats are found every year in Los Angeles County, including inside homes, and the county notes that rabies may be present in areas with no reported cases, since the surveillance system depends on the public reporting sick or unusual animals.

Always keep a safe distance from wildlife and contact your local animal control if you encounter an animal that appears to be sick, injured, or behaving unusually. It is also critical to ensure your pets are up to date on rabies vaccination so they are protected before any potential exposure.— Dr. Muntu Davis, LA County Health Officer

Officials recommend vaccinating all pets — including indoor-only cats and older animals — keeping pet food indoors, securing trash lids, and sealing openings in homes where bats or other wildlife could enter. Anyone bitten by a wild mammal is urged to seek medical care immediately and report the incident to public health authorities.

Why it matters — Rabies is almost always fatal once symptoms appear, and a record year in California — with the virus now confirmed in species and locations not seen in decades — means more residents face real exposure risk from routine encounters with wildlife.

Reported by sfgate.com, sfchronicle.com, publichealth.lacounty.gov, dailynews.com, cdph.ca.gov