A perhaps clearer indication of the US "rabies problem" is at:

CDC: All US cases of rabies 2004

This chart shows all cases found in all kinds of animals or in humans, for the year 2004. There were 6,844 cases shown.

And:

CDC: Human cases of rabies 2004

Only 8 cases of humans infected with rabies occured in the US in 2004.

Only 47 cases of humans infected with rabies occured in the US during the period 1990 through 2004. (Including one in Puerto Rico.)

Ten of the 47 cases, 1990 through 2004, were for people infected outside the US, leaving 37 persons infected from "domestic sources." Of these 37, four of the cases resulted from organ transplants from an infected donor.

Although 97% of cases were identified as being "bat rabies virus" only 3 cases were traceable to "bite by bat." In other bat virus cases, the bat virus apparently was passed to another animal that passed it on to the infected human.

In most cases no "incident causing the infection" was determined. The only cases with a known "bite" were about equally divided between bats and dogs, and none of the "bites" occured in the US.

But only one infected person survived.

John