The zoo's guest book showed that visitors had come from as far away as California and Australia, but most were from Iowa and nearby states. People who have had such contact with the bear since July 30 should see their doctors immediately. Some may be required to receive a rabies vaccination, which amounts to five shots of the vaccine and one to two shots of immune globulin in the shoulder over a period of a month. The shots are similar to childhood immunizations or flu shots. Rabies is 100 percent fatal for humans.
Vaccine is the only way to prevent the disease.
Rabies has for many years been a public health problem. None of those deaths were in Iowa, which hasn't had a rabies death since 1951.