Although those numbers remain small, they serve as a reminder of the continual presence of this ancient scourge. Rabies is caused by a bullet-shaped, virus belonging to the family Rhabdoviriclae. Rhabdo viruses are enveloped viruses and hence are relatively easily destroyed by common household soaps and detergents. Rabiesis maintained in nature by wild and domestic carnivores and by certain other wildlife species. Raccoons are important in transmission in the southeastern states and have recently begun to spread the disease to northern areas of the Atlantic seaboard.
Wild foxes are important reservoir hosts in Europe and to a certain extent in North America as well.
In the Caribbean and much of the Americas, bats are important reservoirs. In Latin America, vampire bats are particularly notorious for spreading rabies. The only rodent species of any importance in rabies transmission appears to be the woodchuck, in the mid-Atlantic and Midwestern United States. Among domestic species, only dogs and cats are important carriers of the infection. Rabid animals excrete vast numbers of rabies virus particles in their saliva-a fact that accounts for the primary means of rabies virus transmission, the bite of an infected animal.