· Exposure to rabies virus is fatal, if not treated appropriately
· Rabies virus can live in reservoir hosts such as raccoons, skunks, foxes and coyotes
· A majority of human cases are actually due to bites from insectivorous bats, the bite is so small that the person often does not realize that they have been bitten
· In North Carolina of the animals presented to the state lab for Rabies testing
1. 50% of raccoons were positive
2. 86% of skunks were positive
3. 50% of foxes were positive
4. 0.5% of dogs were positive
5. 1.6 % of cats were positive
· Of 2007 data, assessed in February 2008 in Nash County there were 2 cases of rabies in raccoons.
Information submitted to Animal Control from Veterinarians
· A representative from Animal Control comes by once a month and received a printed out computer report of all rabies vaccinations administered by Riverside Veterinarians that states:
1. Client’s name, current residential address, phone number, name of pet, with description of the pet, rabies tag number, when the vaccine expires for that pet, and what veterinarian administered the vaccine
· When we participate in rabies clinics we fill out a 3-carbon copy certificate with the same information stated above, but it is handwritten. The owner receives one copy and the other copies go to the Nash County Animal Shelter
Rabies Vaccine Law
· All dogs, cats and ferrets over 4 months of age are required by law to receive a rabies vaccine
· In terms of the shelter animals, after the 72 hour hold the animals become property of the animal shelter and are required to have a current rabies vaccine.
Perhaps a better scenario is to have a veterinarian come into the shelter weekly and bi-weekly and vaccinate for rabies and evaluate any animals that may be in questionable health.
Chandra Meachem Tucker ,DVM
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