Risk factors

Factors that can increase your risk of rabies include:

• Traveling or living in developing countries where rabies is more common, including countries in Africa and Southeast Asia
• Activities that are likely to put you in contact with wild animals that may have rabies, such as exploring caves where bats live or camping without taking precautions to keep wild animals away from your campsite
• Working in a laboratory with the rabies virus
• Wounds to the head or neck, which may help the rabies virus travel to your brain more quickly