Rabies: Report Animal Bite or Incident

To report an animal bite or incident between 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m., find your county office on the Rabies Contacts and Reporting page. On nights, weekends, or holidays, call 1-888-847-0902 (option 2).

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Report All Cases Involving Animal Bites to DPH

If you provide care for a patient who has been bitten by an animal - whether the animal involved is a pet, stray, farm animal, exotic pet or wild animal - you are required to report the name, age, gender, weight, address and telephone number of the person bitten to DPH no later than the end of the next working day.

Report animal incidents by contacting your regional DPH Public Health Services office.

Animal Incident Report form

We will use the information to contact the patient (or if patient is a minor, their guardian) to gather information about the incident for a rabies investigation.

(See Mandatory Reporting of Animal Bites, S.C. State Code of Laws Section 47-5-90.)

Treating Possible Exposure to Rabies

Information for the Public

If you're bitten or scratched by a wild, stray or unvaccinated animal, care for the wound properly and contact your healthcare provider. The healthcare provider is required to report the incident to DPH.

If you are ever bitten or scratched by an animal that could have rabies, your healthcare provider will give you a series of vaccines over a 14-day period. The vaccines are given in a muscle, usually in the upper arm. They are extremely effective at preventing rabies if given as soon as possible after a bite/exposure.

If your child is bitten and you do not seek medical treatment for the wound, you are required to contact your regional DPH Public Health Services office or use the Animal Bite Incident Report Form to report the bite directly to DPH by the end of the following business day.

Information for Providers

DPH's medical staff can help you assess your patient's exposure risks and answer your questions about rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP).

Most animal exposures will not require PEP. Certainly, if the animal can be located for quarantine or testing, it may prevent unnecessary PEP.

Payment Assistance/Reimbursement for Rabies PEP

If your patients are insured by Medicaid, lack health insurance, and/or cannot afford to pay out-of-pocket costs for rabies PEP, please consult the following resources:

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Rabies