"Pets Are Family Too!"
Rabies
is a very real health risk to people in our area. In Florida in 2000, there were 162 confirmed
cases of rabies, with raccoons accounting for over one half the incidents(1). The first
known death from rabies in Florida occurred in 1881, and the last known death
of rabies acquired in Florida was in 1948(2), although the last death in Florida was in
1996 resulting from a dog bite while in Mexico(3). If you see any wild animal acting strangely
and exhibiting odd behavior, do not approach.
Call your local police/sheriff’s department immediately. Below are three website links you can go to
for very detailed information.
2 - Source:
Burridge, MJ, Sawyer, LA, and Bigler, WJ, Rabies in Florida, HRS 1986.
3 - Source:
CDC. Human rabies – Florida 1996. MMWR 1996; 45:719-27.
FLORIDA DEPT OF HEALTH WEBSITE [click link to go to their website]
Rabies is a deadly viral disease that can
be prevented but not cured. The virus attacks the brain of warm-blooded
animals, including people. Protect your pets, yourself, & your family.
How is rabies spread? When an animal is sick with rabies, the virus is shed
in the saliva and can be passed to another animal or a person, usually through
a bite. Transmission may also occur if this saliva or the animal's nervous
tissue enters open wounds, the mouth, nose or eyes of another animal or person.
Rabies is a preventable viral disease of
mammals most often transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal. The vast
majority of rabies cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention each year occur in wild animals like raccoons, skunks, bats, and
foxes. Domestic animals account for less than 10% of the reported rabies cases,
with cats, cattle, and dogs most often reported rabid.
Rabies virus infects the central nervous
system, causing encephalopathy and ultimately death. Early symptoms of rabies
in humans are nonspecific, consisting of fever, headache, and general malaise.
As the disease progresses, neurological symptoms appear and may include
insomnia, anxiety, confusion, slight or partial paralysis, excitation,
hallucinations, agitation, hypersalivation, difficulty swallowing, and
hydrophobia (fear of water). Death usually occurs within days.
AVMA WEBSITE [click link to go to their website]
A) PRINCIPLES OF RABIES CONTROL
1) RABIES EXPOSURE: Rabies is transmitted only when the
virus is introduced into bite wounds or open cuts in skin or onto mucous
membranes.
2) HUMAN RABIES PREVENTION: Rabies in humans can be prevented
either by eliminating exposures to rabid animals or by providing exposed
persons with prompt local treatment of wounds combined with human rabies immune
globulin and vaccine. The rationale for recommending preexposure and
postexposure rabies prophylaxis and details of their administration can be found in the current recommendations of
the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). These recommendations, along with information
concerning the current local and regional status of animal rabies and the
availability of human rabies biologics, are available from state health
departments.