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Can possums have rabies?

In: Infectious Diseases, Microbiology, Possums, Rabies [Edit categories]

Answer:

Most possum species are found only in Australia (the possum is a completely different animal to the opossum) or neighbouring New Zealand, where it has been introduced. Australia does not have rabies, so therefore it is quite safe to say that Australian possums cannot have rabies, and therefore cannot transmit rabies to dogs.

Some people believe possums are the same as opossums. They are completely different species. But if the question is in regard to opossuma: whilst it is believed that any warm blooded mammal can get rabies, opossums' body temperatures are generally too low to harbour rabies. It would be extremely rare to see this, but there has been at least one documented case of a rabid opossum (see the related link).

First answer by Enclone. Last edit by On the Wallaby. Contributor trust: 2762 [recommend contributor ]. Question popularity: 41 [recommend question].

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Sources and related links: [Edit]

Arkansasonline: Boy bitten by opossum with rabies

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Relevant answers:

Do possums have rabies?
No. Most possum species are found only in Australia (the possum is a completely different animal to the opossum) or neighbouring New Zealand, where it has been introduced. Australia does not have...
Can you get rabies from possums?
No.True possums are found in Australia (and have also been introduced to New Zealand) and neither of these countries has rabies.The opossums of North America, which are sometimes referred to as...
Are there possums in Georgia that have rabies?
No, because there are no possums in Georgia. There are opossums, but these are quite different to possums, which are native to Australia.
Can a possum or a rat get rabies?
It depends upon the country. Rabies is not present in Australia, so possums and rats in Australia cannot get rabies. In North America, opossums rarely contract rabies (see the related link below for...
Can possums give rabies to dogs?
Most possum species are found only in Australia (the possum is a completely different animal to the opossum) or neighbouring New Zealand, where it has been introduced. Australia does not have rabies,...