Rabies season in progress

By DELANIA TRIGG, Register Staff Writer

August 27, 2008 10:59 am

— There aren’t many things that scare a veteran law enforcement officer.
But Cooke County Sheriff Mike Compton said rabies is a particular concern for him.
“It scares me,” he said during a telephone interview Tuesday, “If a person gets rabies is it almost always fatal. Rabies is a terrible disease, and it’s also hard on their pocket book. The (postexposure) rabies vaccinate is expensive,” he said.
As rabies control officer for Cooke County, Compton oversees the quarantine of animals involved in biting incidents.
He said animal bites are common, especially in rural areas. Many of the bites involve dogs.
“Any time we have a dog bite, whoever owns the dog has to take the animal to be quarantined at a designated veterinary clinic,” Compton said.
The quarantine is required even if the owner can prove the dog was vaccinated, he noted.
The dog will be isolated and observed for ten days. The penalty for not complying with the quarantine is stiff.
“They (pet owners) can be fined $500 a day for not quarantining them. It is a serious matter,” he said.
Bites from stray dogs are another matter, but Compton said officers make “every effort we can” to find the animal.
If they are caught, stray dogs are not quarantined.
“The dog is euthanized humanely and (the dog’s head) is sent to Austin,” Compton noted. “You only have a short period of time to deal with it after the animal dies.”
Because the animal’s body deteriorates rapidly in heat, officials must work quickly to get the brain to a laboratory for testing.
If that doesn’t happen, the victim may be compelled to take rabies prevention injections which according to Texas State Health Department assistant press officer Emily Palmer cost between $1,500 and $1,600 a set.
The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) health officials warns that September and October often have the highest number of laboratory-confirmed rabies cases.
Last year, 114 rabies cases were reported in September, 93 of those in bats. The only month with a higher total was March with 116 cases out of 969 cases for the year. In 2006, 120 rabies cases were reported in September and another 109 cases in October, most in bats, a DSHS news release stated.
Rabies is a viral illness that affects the central nervous system. Once symptoms of rabies occur, it is almost always fatal. However, a series of post-exposure shots, if given in time, can prevent rabies from developing.
Humans and all warm-blooded animals can get rabies. You can be infected with the rabies virus through the bite of an infected animal. Though rare, you also can get rabies if the saliva from an infected animal gets directly into your nose, eyes, mouth or a fresh wound.
Rabies is a medical urgency not an emergency, but decisions must not be delayed. If you or someone in your family is bitten, DSHS recommends that you:
• Wash the wound immediately and thoroughly with soap and warm water. Apply an antiseptic if available.
• Seek prompt medical care if an animal bites you or you believe that you may have been exposed to rabies.
A health care provider can determine if a series of rabies shots is required. Report all animal bites to your local rabies control authority as soon as possible so the animal can be quarantined or tested if needed. Be able to describe the kind of animal, its size and color as completely as possible if it has not already been captured.
High-risk animals for rabies in Texas are skunks, bats, raccoons, foxes and coyotes.
Rabbits, hares and small rodents such as squirrels, rats, mice, hamsters, guinea pigs, gerbils and chipmunks are rarely found to be infected with rabies and have not been known to cause rabies in humans in the United States. Dogs, cats, horses and cattle are the most frequently reported rabid domestic animals in Texas.
If one is exposed and a series of shots required, the treatment is expensive.
How expensive?
About $1,500 according to Texas State Health Department assistant press officer Emily Palmer.

Side bar:
DSHS also offers this advice:

• Keep cats and ferrets indoors and keep dogs indoors or in a fenced yard.
• Spay or neuter pets to prevent unwanted animals that may not receive proper care.
• Teach children not to play with any animal that they do not know, even if the animal seems friendly.
• Avoid animals, both domestic and wild, that appear disoriented, fearless or aggressive. Nighttime animals such as bats, raccoons and skunks that are active in the daytime may be sick.
• Do not touch any wild animal that appears ill or dead. Call your local animal control or local health department for help.
• Don’t attract wild animals to your yard. Avoid leaving pet food outdoors, and keep garbage in closed containers.
• Stay away from wild animals, and never keep a wild animal as a pet.
• Prevent bats from entering the home where they might come in contact with people or pets. You cannot, however, get rabies just from seeing a bat from a distance.
• If you find a bat in a room with an unattended child, a sleeping person or anyone who cannot reliably say what happened, leave the room, close the door and call your local rabies control or local health department to capture the bat and have it tested for rabies. Do not touch the bat yourself.
• Have domestic ferrets, wolf-dog hybrids and livestock, especially those that are in frequent contact with humans, vaccinated against rabies.