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RABIES TODAY IN ORANGE COUNTY We should expect 2014 to rank among the highest on record for rabies cases in Orange County, Already 12 rabies cases have been confirmed by the North Carolina Public Health Laboratory as part of our standard surveillance procedures. In the last five years, by comparison, the rabies case count did not exceed 12 for the entire year. If the incidence of rabies continues at the same pace, there could be upwards of 30 cases in 2014. That would rank with 2002 and 2006 as the only years in which the count has exceeded 25 since the onset of "raccoon rabies" in the latter part of the 1990s. If our County history is predictive, we should not be surprised to see a high number in 2015 and quite possibly beyond as well The elevated number of confirmed rabies cases has caught our attention and we have every reason to believe that awareness and concern are growing among county residents as well. This is at it should be given that rabies is a fatal virus and often results in the unnecessary destruction of beloved pets who are not currently vaccinated against rabies at the time they have a suspected or actual exposure to rabies. We will be closely monitoring this situation in coordination with other public health officials given the notable bounce in rabies we appear to be experiencing in Orange County. From a scientific standpoint, it is too early to tell whether the incidence of rabies in wildlife in Orange County is truly increasing and also whether it is representative of any broader trends in the area or the state. Available data year -to -date for counties adjacent to Orange County and the state as a whole are consistent with the proposition that there is a localized cluster of rabies in Orange County. It may be that the topography of the county and /or mixture of rural, residential and other spaces creating so- called "edge ecosystems" are more favorable than elsewhere to a robust raccoon population. . By the same token, it would be premature to rule out that we are experiencing an upswing in the cycle of rabies in raccoons, the reservoir species for the virus in our region. This is suggested by data for confirmed rabies cases for Orange County for the period 1996 -2013, which are available from the NC Public Health Laboratory (http: / /orangecountync. gov/AnimalServices/ documents /ConfirmedRabiesCases96- 13. d .