• Distribution Nationwide, rabies commonly occurs in bats, skunks, fox, coyotes, raccoons, and a wide variety of other wildlife species.

• Transmission Until 1960, dogs were the most important animal host of rabies in the United States.

• Pathology and Diagnosis There is no gross pathology evident in animals which have died of rabies.

• Rabies and Wildlife, MDNR's Role Rabies is an important viral disease in Michigan because of its human and wildlife health significance.

• Raccoon Strain Rabies Raccoon-strain rabies was first diagnosed in the early 1950s in Georgia and Florida.

• Bats Though there are not good quantitative estimates of bat populations, the proportion of the bat population that is positive for rabies is estimated to be less than 1%.