Rabies Investigation & Response: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach

In May 2006, Harris County Public Health & Environmental Services (HCPHES) was notified of a local high school student who had been hospitalized - lab testing eventually confirmed that the student had contracted rabies. Immediately upon notification and over the next few weeks, HCPHES coordinated a multi-disciplinary public health response to determine the cause of the student's exposure, prevent illness among others who may have been exposed, and educate and inform the community about rabies prevention. A departmental Incident Command Structure was established to coordinate the diverse response, which included epidemiological investigation activities to determine that bat exposure was the likely source for transmission and to determine which persons exposed to the student would require preventive rabies vaccine; veterinary public health response which included both assessing for potential sites for bats in the area and also for providing guidance to the public on dealing with bats if encountered; collaboration with health care partners including federal, state, and local agencies, alerting local medical providers, and assuring provision of access to preventive vaccine in a timely manner; and, public information and health education including providing parental educational sessions, handling media requests, establishing a rabies hotline, and maintaining dedicated information on the HCPHES internet website. In total, out of the 142 persons who were assessed, 53 persons received rabies preventive vaccine to protect their health.