Potential rabies exposures are an ongoing concern in South Dakota as indicated by 12 animals testing positive for rabies in 2024. Accordingly, the South Dakota Department of Health (SD-DOH) has staff available 24/7 for medical provider consultation on rabies exposures. In addition to being available for consultation, SD-DOH recently published updated guidelines to aid medical providers involved in the decision making of rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) administration to patients exposed to a confirmed or suspected rabid animal. The guidelines should be used as an aid in deciding whether to administer rabies PEP to a patient, please consult SD-DOH with questions or unique situations. These guidelines can be found online and poster-sized copies can be ordered for your facility at SD Department of Health – Educational Materials Catalog, under the “Infectious Diseases” tab.
Additionally, SD-DOH publishes a rabies report each year, summarizing animal rabies testing data for the state. The latest 2024 rabies annual report, as well as prior years, can be found at the bottom of the page at https://doh.sd.gov/diseases/rabies. In 2023, SD-DOH performed a survey of healthcare facilities across the state regarding rabies PEP availability at their facility. The results of this survey can be found here.
If you have questions about rabies exposures, rabies PEP, or trends in rabies data, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at 605-773-3737 or Epidemiology@state.sd.us. You can find the SD-DOH rabies resource page at https://doh.sd.gov/diseases/rabies/.
