Rabies virus is excreted in the saliva of infected animals and is almost always by transmitted by biting; occasionally it may be transmitted by contamination of mucosa or a superficial wound.

• Airborne transmission recorded in the USA in man, coyotes and foxes (but not in dogs and cats) following exposure to infected bats in caves.
• Oral infection achieved experimentally in a number of species including foxes, skunks and cats, and infection of dogs from eating rabid fox carcasses also reported.

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