High-risk groups

Rabies can affect anyone but some people are particularly exposed:

• people who are in regular contact with nature due to their leisure activities (walkers, cyclists, campers, etc.) in endemic regions (not in Belgium)
• travellers who stay in high-risk regions for long periods 
• expatriates living in high-risk regions
• people exposed to a professional risk, such as forest rangers, potholers, archaeologists working in contaminated zones, taxidermists, vets or laboratory personnel that handle live rabies viruses.
• people who are called upon professionally to be in direct contact with carnivores or other mammals in zones where rabies is rife.
• people who are called upon professionally or for any other reason to be in direct contact with bats, including in Belgium
• children that often play with animals in endemic regions. 

These at-risk populations can benefit from preventative vaccination.