- Hello Jeff - I would certainly hope people will not panic
and begin shooting every raccoon or coyote in sight as the article points
out.
-
- Simple precaution of NOT handling wild animals and vaccinating
livestock and pets will help ensure a rabies free status for livestock
and pet owners.
-
- IF a homeowner sees an animal acting erratically, it
would be advisable for that homeowner to take any pets indoors and immediately
call the health department in the area or other agency, such as DEC, etc,
etc.
-
- DO NOT try to capture the suspected rabid animal.
-
- It is also advisable for homeowner to use window screens
to prevent access to the home by bats which are responsible for spreading
rabies to sleeping homeowners. In these situations, the victim often does
not know he or she had even been bitten and, too many times, people die
as a result.
-
- I really believe, and have been warning, that this is
going to be a very bad summer for Rabies across the US.
-
- Patty
-
-
- RABIES, CANINE- USA (GEORGIA)
- *****************************
-
- Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (edited)
-
- The prairie wolf found dead near Lawrenceville was rabid,
but testing suggests he got the disease from a rabid raccoon -- a far more
common carrier of the fatal disease.
-
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
announced on Wednesday [9 May 2007] that a coyote found dead on the property
of its Lawrenceville facility had tested positive for a strain of rabies
commonly associated with raccoons. [Commonly called the raccoon strain
of rabies. - Mod.TG] CDC didn't suggest that the animal had spread the
disease, but wanted to remind the public of the danger of rabies with raccoons,
foxes and -- as recently discovered in [the city of] Norcross -- coyotes
are becoming more common in the suburbs.
-
- That doesn't mean homeowners need to start shooting every
coyote or raccoon on sight; but it does mean people need to be careful
around wild animals and ensure their pets don't bring home rabies, said
Cherie Drenzek, a veterinarian with the Georgia Division of Public Health.
"Wildlife rabies is endemic to Georgia, meaning we have a lot of it,"
she said. "Wild animals should be left alone, and, because our domestic
animals form the barrier between wild animals and humans, it is important
that pets get vaccinated."
-
- She said the state identifies about 300 wild animals
a year as infected with rabies -- and in the last 5 years, only 5 of those
have been coyotes. That doesn't necessarily mean that it is uncommon for
coyotes to have the disease, but the state only tests wild animals that
have come into contact with humans or domesticated animals, which may explain
why more cases of rabies have been found in raccoons, skunks, and foxes.
"We'll probably see more," she said. "As the suburbs sprawl,
coyotes are more likely to encounter people."
-
- CDC suggests that anyone bit or scratched by a wild animal
should wash the wound and [consult a] doctor. A vaccination in a series
of 5 shots given over 28 days can prevent the rabies virus from developing
into the fatal disease that infects the central nervous system.
-
- http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/gwinnett/stories/2007/05/09/0510gwxcoyote.html
-
-
- communicated by
- ProMED-mail rapporteur Joseph P Dudley, PhD
-
- A map of the United States showing Georgia may be found
at
- http://www.infoplease.com/states.html - Mod.TG
-
- Patricia A. Doyle DVM, PhD
- Bus Admin, Tropical Agricultural Economics
- Univ of West Indies
-
- Please visit my "Emerging Diseases" message
board at:
- http://www.emergingdisease.org/phpbb/index.php
- Also my new website:
- http://drpdoyle.tripod.com/
- Zhan le Devlesa tai sastimasa
- Go with God and in Good Health
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