Rabies outbreak?

What the hell is going on?

South Carolina:
8/21 Fourteen people in Anderson County are being treated for rabies after a kitten tested positive for the disease
[link to www.wltx.com]

Florida:
8/21 Officials issue rabies warning in Seminole County after attack
[link to www.wftv.com]

Virginia:
8/21 Cat tests positive for rabies in Poquoson. The cat aggressively attacked two residents in that area without provocation and at least three other cats.
[link to www.wvec.com]

California:
8/21 The San Joaquin County Public Health Services issued a warning this week, after it found a kitten with rabies in a rural part of Stockton.
[link to fox40.com]

Oklahoma:
8/21 Man attacked by bat with rabies “It just kept hitting me,” Langwell said. “I kept trying to knock it off and I finally got a hold of him and threw him down. It scratched me trying to hang on to me.”
[link to 5newsonline.com]

Texas:
8/21 Dallas Two dogs under quarantine after skunk in Frisco tests positive for rabies
[link to friscoblog.dallasnews.com]
8/21 Austin Tonight, there's concern over rabid bats in Travis County. So far this year, Animal Services reports 33 bats have tested positive for rabies. 21 of those were reported in the past week. [link to www.keyetv.com]

New York:
8/21 Public health authorities in western New York are conducting baited vaccine airdrops this week to reduce rabies in the local wildlife population.
[link to www.sfgate.com]
8/21 Health Officials Warn Brooklyn Residents About Possible Rabies Scare [link to brooklyn.ny1.com]

Ohio/Pennsylvania:
The Summit County Combined General Health District, in collaboration with the USDA Division of Wildlife Services, will participate in a multi-county rabies vaccine baiting operation for raccoons and skunks in the communities of Twinsburg, Twinsburg Township and Reminderville, as well as other county locations.
[link to www.the-news-leader.com]

Oregon:
8/18 A park visitor is undergoing rabies treatment after being scratched by a bat in front of Lake Crescent Lodge in Olympic National Park. There are only two other known cases of rabies in bats in Olympic National Park. In 1975 a child was bitten by a bat in the Elwha Valley and in 2008 a woman was scratched by a bat in the Ozette campground.
[link to www.oregonlive.com]