Rabies Cases Through the Past

¶ … rabies cases through the past decade and breaks the number down by animal types. The general trend is downward but there have been several years (4) when there slight increases. Raccoons have consistently remained the primary source of rabies and far outdistance the field in regard to the number of reported cases. Bats and fox follow in the number of cases but trail raccoons significantly. For the most part, increases in individual animal types in any given year correspond with increases in any given year.

This chart compares the number of overall reported cases by year. Calendar year 2004 is highlighted in orange as it represents the highest number of cases in the ten years used for the study. The chart clearly indicates the downward trend of rabies cases but does not explain the reasons for the increase in during the period of 2001 through 2004.

This pie chart examines the percentage of cases between the top four animal types responsible for the number of reported cases over the ten-year period in the state of Florida only. As demonstrated by the chart, raccoons are responsible for nearly two thirds of all cases among the four top animal types which represents almost twice the number of cases reported by the next three largest animal types.

This pie chart demonstrates the high percentages of cases that are reported in urban areas vs. those reported in rural areas in the State of Florida. This chart compares only the number of reported cases involving the top four animal types. The chart does not take into account the difference in overall population between the two areas. Population density would theoretically skew the numbers.

This chart uses the chi-square test for homogeneity and compares the effect of location, that is, urban vs. rural, among the four leading animal types responsible for reported rabies cases. The variables X2, df, and P. are variables used by the statistician who formulated the data that is reflected in the chart. Information as to why the variables used were chosen by the statistician is not provided.

This pie chart is similar to an earlier one but this time only the percentage of occurrences between urban and rural locations between two animal types, raccoon and fox, are compared. Raccoons and fox have been shown historically as the two leading causes of rabies and comparing these two groups is statistically significant in studying the number of rabies cases during a given period. The charts cover the decade through years 2000-2010.

Similar to the preceding chart, these two charts demonstrate the percentage of cases reported from urban and rural locations for the next two leading animal types responsible for reported cases for the years 2000-2010. These charts conclusively establish that the preponderance of rabies cases occur in urban areas and that the percentage between urban and rural areas is consistent.

This graph demonstrates the occurrence of reported rabies cases for each animal type and overlays such occurrences against the location of each incident. The graph clearly establishes, again, the overwhelming involvement of raccoons in rabies cases, as in every given year of the study, the number of cases attributed to raccoons out numbers the rest of the animal types significantly.

These two charts compare the number of reported rabies cases in the states of Florida and Georgia. They demonstrate that rabies in the state of Georgia are far more prevalent than reported cases in Florida. In both states, raccoons are the primary problem and by numbers that are more serious than the remainder of the animal types combined. Interestingly, dogs, which are traditionally identified with rabies, are responsible for fewer reported cases than cats. Cats are rarely identified with rabies but, in both Florida and Georgia, their reported numbers are far higher.

This chart compares the number of reported cases in four animal types in Florida and Georgia. It demonstrates that in three of the four animal types the numbers are relatively equal but that in the case of raccoons the problem is far worse in the state of Georgia. The chart covers only four years and not the entire ten-year period covered in most of the graphs.

These charts provide a breakdown representing the percentage of cases involving the four largest number of reported cases by animal types in the peak years in the two individual jurisdictions under study. The percentage of raccoon involvement remains consistent, on a percentage basis, between the two jurisdictions. The percentages between fox and cats are inverted between the two states which may reflect the more rural nature of Georgia vs. Florida.