In 1953, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported the first transmission of rabies by a bat. Rabid insectivorous bats have caused an average of 700 to 800 cases annually, and have been found throughout the United States, excluding Alaska and Hawaii.

Rabies prevention and control strategies have succeeded in lowering the number of human rabies deaths to an average of 1-2 per year. The prevention program was estimated to cost $230 million to $1 billion per year. This cost was shared by the private sector (vaccination of companion animals) and the public (through animal control programs).