If we look at the dangerous viruses – the diseases that kill the most people – the top of the chart shows rabies – despite the fact that Pasteur developed the vaccine a century and a half ago. We don’t notice Rabies because of the location – yet even here it is endemic (though rare) in our bat population. If you look at the locations where most of the deaths occur, it’s Africa and Asia. North America has done a great job moving Rabies away from the top headlines.
I recall having to shoot a (probably) rabid skunk in South Dakota – I took a solid rest, raised the sights on my old 22, then took 7 shots at 200 yards plus before ending the poor thing. It isn’t a normal encounter, but encountering a rabid animal is definitely a possibility, even in the US.
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