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New Mexico Hiker Tests Positive for Rabies After Coyote Bite in Gila National Forest

State health officials count the case as the region’s fourth rabid-animal event of 2025, prompting a Silver City vaccination clinic on Saturday.

Overview

  • The New Mexico Department of Health said its laboratory confirmed the hiker’s rabies diagnosis after a coyote bite near Silver City.
  • Officials reported the hiker did not require hospitalization and is receiving post-exposure prophylaxis to prevent illness.
  • Health authorities scheduled a public rabies vaccination clinic hosted by the High Desert Humane Society in Silver City on Dec. 6 from 9 a.m. to noon.
  • NMDOH noted this is the fourth confirmed rabid animal detected in southwest New Mexico this year, following a bobcat, a dog, and another coyote.
  • Guidance urges immediate wound washing, prompt medical care, keeping pets and livestock vaccinated, reporting exposures to animal control, and calling the NMDOH helpline at 1-833-796-8773.