Rabies Risk Calculator — Assess Your Exposure in 60 Seconds
Answer a few questions about the animal contact. We’ll tell you how urgent it is and what to do next.
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What kind of contact was it?
Pick the closest match. If more than one applies, choose the most serious.
What to do after a possible rabies exposure
- 1
Wash the wound with soap and running water for 15 minutes. This is the single most effective first step.
- 2
Do not wait for symptoms. Once rabies symptoms appear it is almost always too late to treat.
- 3
Seek medical evaluation. A clinician or public health authority decides whether PEP is needed.
- 4
Complete the full course of PEP if it is recommended. Stopping early reduces its protection.
This tool does not replace medical advice
The risk level shown is based on general guidance from the CDC and WHO. Only a licensed healthcare professional or public health authority can confirm whether you need PEP. When in doubt, seek care.
About this rabies risk calculator
Not sure whether a bite or scratch is dangerous? This free rabies risk calculator is a 60-second risk assessment tool that walks you through the same factors a clinician weighs after an animal exposure. To know if you are at risk for rabies after a bite or scratch, it checks whether the skin was broken, whether saliva reached a wound or your eyes, nose, or mouth, whether a bat was in a sleeping area, and whether the animal was wild, stray, unknown, unvaccinated, or unavailable for observation.
One of the most common questions is “can a scratch without blood cause rabies?” A scratch that does not break the skin and has no animal saliva on it carries very low risk, but scratches often create tiny breaks you cannot see, and if a rabid animal's saliva touched the area, transmission is possible. When the animal was wild, stray, or unknown, treat any skin-breaking scratch as a possible exposure rather than relying on the absence of blood. Rabies is almost always fatal once symptoms begin, yet nearly 100% preventable when post-exposure care starts early, so it is always safer to check.
Answer the questions above to get a personalized High, Possible, or Lower concern result with clear next steps. For urgent first-aid guidance see what to do immediately after a bite, or jump straight to the clinic finder to locate PEP care near you. This tool is educational and does not replace a doctor.