Rabies Alert Issued for this Caribbean Island

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Level 2, Practice Enhance Precaution, Travel Alert on April 15, 2021, for Haiti, a Caribbean country that shares the island of Hispaniola, with the Dominican Republic to its east.

The CDC reported, 'Rabies in dogs is increasing in Haiti. And to prevent rabies, travelers should avoid all contact with all dogs and cats while in Haiti.

Furthermore, the CDC says 'access to human rabies vaccine is limited in Haiti, so if you are exposed to rabies, you may not be able to get appropriate treatment. And act quickly if bitten or scratched by a dog or other animal. Wash all bites and scratches immediately with soap and running water for at least 15 minutes.'

And visitors to Haiti should consider the pre-travel rabies vaccine. The preexposure rabies vaccine series is given as three shots over three to four weeks. People who receive the complete preexposure rabies vaccine series still require immediate medical attention after any animal bite or scratch.

Rabies is a fatal but preventable viral disease that affects the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) in mammals, says the CDC. The rabies virus infects the central nervous system. If a person does not receive the appropriate medical care after a potential rabies exposure, the virus can cause disease in the brain, ultimately resulting in death. 

The CDC publishes a country list to review rabies status information for each country on this webpage.