The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced last week that canine rabies has been officially eradicated in the United States, warning however that owners should continue to vaccinate their pets.

The CDC announced Friday that canine rabies, which is only one form of several, is no longer present in the U.S. The strain can no longer be transmitted from dog to dog but the threat remains.

Dr. Charles Rupprecht, Chief of the CDC Rabies Program, said:

“The elimination of dog-to-dog transmission of rabies does not mean that people in the U.S. can stop vaccinating their pets against rabies. Rabies is ever-present in wildlife and can be transmitted to dogs or other pets. We need to stay vigilant.”

The strain can still be transmitted from wildlife such as bats, raccoons and skunks, to domestic animals, particularly to cats and dogs, Dr. Rupprecht said.

“We remain optimistic that this official declaration of canine-rabies free status in the United States could be replicated throughout the Western Hemisphere and elsewhere,” he said, adding that the adoption of cats and dogs from foreign countries where canine rabies still exists raises the risk of re-contamination.

“The elimination of canine rabies in the United States represents one of the major public health success stories in the last 50 years,” said Dr. Rupprecht emphasized. “However, there is still much work to be done to prevent and control rabies globally.”

Rabies, a viral disease, is preventable in humans, yet nearly 55,000 people die around the world each year. A person usually becomes infected after being bitten by an animal carrying the virus.

Experts have developed a preventive vaccine, but once symptoms appear in a non-vaccinated person, there are little chances of surviving. If vaccination occurs immediately after being bitten, there are still chances of survival.

Symptoms during the later stages include insomnia, cerebral dysfunction, slight or partial paralysis, confusion, agitation, abnormal behavior, hallucinations, even delirium. Death usually occurs within the following several days.

There is no treatment for rabies after symptoms of the disease appear, the CDC says.