Public health officials issue a rabies reminder

State and local public health officials are reminding Montanans to be aware of the risk for exposure to rabies this summer. Encounters between humans and wild animals often increase in the summer months because of the time spent hiking and engaging in other outdoor activities.

Rabies is a fatal disease. The rabies virus is carried in the saliva of infected warm-blooded mammals and is usually transmitted to people and other animals through a bite. Human rabies deaths in the United States are rare, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and average approximately one to two...