Just to be clear, many species of lyssavirus cause this disease.
Australia does not have classical rabies associated with dogs, and has planned on keeping this zoonosis out of their continent. However, they do have rabies in their bat populations, which has caused fatal cases in humans and other animals. Having a healthy respect for wildlife is one way to avoid exposures and stay safe...
Thanks to my co-author, Dr. Thomas Muller for our 2023 contribution to the latest JHP publication on Wildlife Disease and Health in Conservation, edited by D. Jessup and R. Radcliffe: Wildlife Disease
Our article is available online here: https://doi.org/10.1186/s44149-023-00078-8 or as a PDF here: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1186/s44149-023-00078-8.pdf.
As a basic disease of nature, this zoonosis is 'almost always there, somewhere'. However, now come full bore after the advent of the equinox, people and their pets may experience a plethora of wildlif