[Epidemiology of rabies (author's transl)]

Rabies is widespread in all continents except Australia. As an anthropozoonosis its main importance is in areas with uncontrolled dog rabies, nowadays principally topical and subtropical regions. The greatest economic losses however are encountered in the cattle herds of South and Central America, where paralyssa prevails. In the northern hemisphere particularly rabies is enzootic among wildlife. Under the given ecological conditions only one or two species act as primary vectors of the infection. In Europe and parts of North America the red fox, in the arctic regions the arctic fox; in the middle West of the USA the skunk and in smaller foci the raccoon and mongoose are the reservoirs of rabies.