Rabies. The name conjures images of large dogs foaming at the mouth and tearing their victims to shreds. In reality, wildlife are the primary sources of rabies and attacks on humans by rabid animals.
On July 16 a seven year old boy and his grandfather were attacked, separately, by a fox at the grandparent's home in Webster. The grandfather shot and killed the fox during the second attack and a laboratory later confirm that it was rabid.
A preventative for rabies has existed since 1885. Louis Pasteur developed the first vaccine and successfully treated a patient, Joseph Meister, who had been mauled by a rabid dog. The treatment that grew out of his pioneering work consisted of twenty shots in the stomach over twenty days, a long and painful process.
Today, a patient exposed to rabies can expect to receive five shots spaced over 28 days. These injections are given in the arm, or for a young child, in the thigh.
Rabies is a viral disease affecting the nervous system and the brain. It is confined to mammals, and primarily to animals that eat meat. This includes cats and dogs, bats, foxes and skunks and coyotes. Cattle can catch rabies and woodchucks are notable among the rodent family for being susceptible to rabies.
The United States and most industrialized countries have strict laws requiring vaccination of dogs and cats for rabies. Locally, those shots are administered every three years. Many localities used to require that only dogs be vaccinated but cats are now included in those requirements.
Importation of animals such as dogs or cats is also subject to a variety of restrictions. Hawaii and Great Britain are notable for requiring lengthy quarantines of imported dogs and cats.
There is a rabies vaccine for humans. People in high risk occupations such as veterinarians and those who handle or come into frequent contact with potential rabid animals receive the vaccine. It does not prevent the disease but the number of injections required after exposure is reduced.
In the Monroe county area, foxes, skunks, bats and cats are the animals that are the most likely exposure risks. Wild animals that behave strangely may be rabid. Most wild animals such as skunks or foxes do not come out in the daylight. Seeing these animals wandering at noontime is a sign they may be rabid. Lethargic wild animals, ones that seem sick or act demented, are also potentially rabid.
Cats are a special case. They are required to be vaccinated if they are domestic but many colonies of feral cats are found in the Rochester and Monroe County region. Feral cats may not have been vaccinated.
Bats are also a special case. A bat should always be assumed to be rabid.
Call a doctor if bitten or scratched by an animal or if you believe you have come into contact with a possibly rabid animal. A domesticated animal may be placed into quarantine and observed. Wild animals will be killed and examined for rabies.
Wash any scratches or bites thoroughly with soap and water. Seek immediate medical attention. The series of rabies shots will be given absent proof that the animal could not be rabid.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have a good site about rabies. The New York State Health Department has one, as well. Monroe County, N.Y. offers a series of vaccination clinics for dogs and cats that are free.
Rabies is not a reason to panic. Working with your physician and the Health Department, the proper course of treatment can be easily determined. Infection can be prevented, and seeing that your dog or cat is vaccinated is a large part of prevention.
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