New York City health officials are warning residents about a sharp jump in rabid animals across four boroughs.
Sally Slavinski, director of the Zoonotic and Vector-Borne Disease Unit at the New York City Health Department, said that the geographic spread marks a worrying shift from historical patterns. “Historically, we never really saw that many rabid raccoons in Queens or Brooklyn,” she said. “And then in 2022, and into 2023, we saw clustering of raccoons in Queens along the Nassau County border, and then there was a spread into Brooklyn and into Long Island.”
City data shows 26 rabid raccoons have been detected as of November 6, alongside seven rabid skunks and one rabid cat. The 35 total cases span the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island — leaving only Manhattan untouched so far. That raccoon count represents a 30 percent increase over last year’s numbers.
Despite pop-culture depictions of rabid animals turning violently aggressive, Slavinski pushed back against that image for the current outbreak. She assured the public that the raccoons across NYC are unlikely to develop what she called “the aggressive form of rabies.”
The stakes for unvaccinated pets are severe. NYC Health mandates that dogs and cats with no rabies vaccination history must either be euthanized or isolated for up to six months under daily veterinary observation if exposed. The department’s guidance states: “Dogs and cats that have never been vaccinated are required to either be euthanized or isolated for up to six months in a facility under daily veterinary observation.”
For pets whose vaccinations have lapsed, officials will evaluate each case individually. Animals with current vaccinations face a lighter protocol: an immediate booster shot followed by 45 days of home confinement and observation.
The department emphasizes that cats and dogs typically contract rabies through raccoon encounters, making vaccination compliance critical. All dogs and cats in the city are legally required to maintain up-to-date rabies vaccinations.
Residents who suspect their pet has been exposed to a rabid animal are instructed to report the incident to the Health Department promptly. The disease is fatal in animals once symptoms appear.
The city’s last recorded human rabies case dates back to 1947. No dog has tested positive for the virus in over six decades, a streak officials are working to preserve through enforcement and public messaging.