What to know
- Presentation Day/Time: Friday, April 25, 10:55 am–12:20 pm
- Presenter: Sarah Ludmer, MSN/MPH, BSN, RN, EIS officer assigned to the Maryland Department of Health, Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Outbreak Response Bureau
What did we do?
- On August 13, 2024, a community cat, captured outside a hotel, tested positive for rabies. Researchers investigated to identify people who were exposed and recommend postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) treatment. They also estimated public health personnel time required for response to better characterize human resources burden of the investigation.
What did we find?
- 309 potentially exposed hotel guests were identified, including 107 Maryland residents from 10 local health jurisdictions and 202 people from 27 states and Canada.
- Among these, 63.8% people completed risk assessments; 2 exposed people were identified and started on PEP.
- No exposures were identified among reverse 911 respondents.
- Outreach to unhoused people identified 1 exposed person who was started on PEP.
- Of 29 jurisdictions involved, 17 provided personnel time estimates, which totaled 450 hours.
Why does it matter?
- Response to a single rabid cat in an urban setting required a resource-intensive, multijurisdictional investigation, resulting in the identification of 3 exposed people.
- Rabies investigations require a robust and flexible public health infrastructure. Ensuring operational resources required to conduct these high-burden life-saving investigations is essential.
Abstract Category: Rabies