BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Rabies is an acute untreatable fatal encephalitis, which is fully preventable. Determination of prevalence and the main source of the virus can help with controlling and eradicating the disease. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of rabies in the suspicious specimens submitted to the national reference center for rabies, Pasteur Institute of Iran, during March-August 2015.

METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed on 195 rabies-suspected specimens of brain tissue. The diagnosis was done based on the determination Negri bodies through direct immunofluorescence method. In addition, rabies infection was evaluated in terms of animal type and geographic distribution.

FINDINGS: The results showed that the prevalence rate of rabies infection was 59.5% (116 specimens). This infection was mostly observed among dogs, so that from 116 cases of positive rabies, 45 cases were canine (39%). In categorizing the specimens into carnivorous and ruminant, it was found that rabies was more prevalent in carnivorous animals (p=0.01). In terms of geographic distribution, the most cases of positive rabies were reported in Khorasan Razavi province with 23 positive cases (24.2%).

CONCLUSION: Rabies infection is highly prevalent in carnivorous animals, especially dogs, and it is still considered as a dangerous zoonotic disease.