County confirms just one rabies case

Health officials still urge caution, vaccinating pets

Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2009

As of Aug. 3, the county had conducted 100 tests for the viral disease. Only one animal tested positive, a raccoon found in the Pomfret area.

According to the Centers for Disease Control Web site, wild animals such as raccoons, skunks, bats and foxes make up 90 percent of animal cases reported each year.

"What we're asking residents to do is not let their pets run wild," said Bill Leebel, the health department's public information officer. "Keep them in, and keep them under control. It's important to keep those animals vaccinated as well."

Vaccinations are the best protection against the virus, Leebel said, and since rabies is fatal for two and four-legged mammals if left untreated, it's best to know how to prevent the sickness in the first place.

Rabies is passed via the saliva of an infected animal, which means even a minor puncture or shallow scratch can result in a positive test, the information officer said.

"Rabies is contagious from any mammal to any mammal," Leebel said.

"The incubation period is a real gray area because it depends on the size of the animal; generally the disease will spread faster the smaller the animal."

There are visible symptoms of the disease, Leebel said, including aggressive behavior, fever and disorientation.

Extreme thirst is another symptom of the disease, which eventually leads to insanity. Unfortunately, the only way to test for rabies is to study the brain of the mammal in question, which means an ultimately fatal examination inside the head. Leebel said of the 100 tests done this year, many of the animals were already dead.

If residents sees any animals with these symptoms, Leebel said they should stay away from them and call the health department or county sheriff's office.

As for the more personal situations such as when a household pet is bitten or scratched by a rabid animal, Leebel warned owners to be careful when dealing with the injured pet.

While the first instinct might be to cuddle and clean the animal, an owner needs to avoid any open wounds or hidden injuries when washing their dog or cat, as they could be at risk of spreading the disease to themselves.

Leebel said immediate treatment that requires post-exposure vaccines can combat infection, and the county will conduct an investigation into how the person or pet developed the illness.

"We'll do an interview with the person who filed the call and ask what the behavior of the animal was that led them to believe it was rabid," Leebel said.

Sometimes the animal can be caught and tested with enough time to spare to know whether or not the treatment is needed.

An earlier Independent article explain that if the pet is bitten by an animal that tests positive for rabies, it should be vaccinated or given a rabies booster shot and kept in isolation for two weeks.

For humans bitten by a rabies-positive animal, a dose of rabies immune globulin — a blood product that contains antibodies to fight off the disease — is administered, followed by five shots of rabies vaccine. The injections are given in the arm at a doctor's office.

At this time last year, 12 wild animals had tested positive for rabies, and in 2007, 30 cases were confirmed.

Leebel said because of the difficulty with analyzing animal behavior, there isn't an official reason as to why the numbers are down this year, though some point to fewer construction projects in the county and the wet summer.

"An increase in building dislodges animal habitats; we also had a very wet summer so animals are not moving as much for water," Leebel said.

As far as human fatalities go, Leebel said there hasn't been a death caused by rabies in Maryland in 30 years. In Virginia in the late 1990s, a man came into a hospital with a fever and disorientation. Though there were no discernable cuts or scratches on his body, after the man's death it was discovered the strain of rabies in his system had come from a bat.

msomers@somdnews.com