Rabies cases on the rise

13 animals test positive for virus this year so far

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

This year, the culprits have been skunks and raccoons and the health department advises pet owners to have their cats and dogs vaccinated for rabies.

‘‘The No. 1 thing we are emphasizing is checking your pet’s vaccination records and making sure their immunization against rabies is up to date,” said Ann Rose, environmental health sanitarian with the health department, in a statement.

Vaccinated animals serve as a boundary between rabid animals and humans.

‘‘One recent case involved a skunk, which came in contact with four dogs that were not current on their rabies vaccine status. Despite the fact that the dogs were enclosed in a fenced area, the skunk managed to gain access to their area.” Rose said in the statement. ‘‘All of the dogs are now restricted to a strict double enclosure isolation for six months, due to the potential they face for developing symptoms of the fatal disease.”

Rabies is easily spread through a mammal’s saliva, and once the virus enters the brain, the animal is usually dead within a week. But before it dies, the animal can become dangerous and aggressive.

According to the health department, there have been four positive rabies cases since May. One was off Chancellor’s Run Road in Great Mills, one off Burnt Mill Road in Hollywood, one near Route 235 in Hollywood and another in Mechanicsville. In all cases a skunk or raccoon was involved, according to the healthy department.

Leslie Payne, public information officer for the health department, said her records date back to 1999. Since then, the trend of reported rabies cases ‘‘is going upward,” she said. She suspects that is due to a growing population, which equals more encounters with wildlife.

Since 1999, other animals that tested positive for rabies were two bats, eight foxes, two dogs, five cats, one horse, one cow and one groundhog.

Two years ago, a St. Mary’s child, 9-year-old Ceva Scott, had to get rabies shots after encountering a bat at a Girl Scout camp in Northern Virginia.

The Maryland Gazette reported on May 18, 1764, that in St. Mary’s County, John Hoskins was bitten in the leg by a rabid dog. The wound healed, but later ‘‘hydrophobia had begun to show itself.” Convulsions followed and then he died.