- Hello Jeff - As you know, I have been warning about this
very thing for years...and here it is...
-
- The Lexington-Fayette County Health Department is warning
people in 2 Fayette County neighborhoods about potential rabid animals.
-
- A horse in the Hamilton Lane/North Yarnallton Pike area
and a skunk near Abbeywood Road both tested positive for rabies this
week, according to a health department statement released on Wednesday
[11 Feb 2009]. Department officials are working to determine the
level, if any, of human exposure.
-
- So far, there have been 5 cases of rabies from Fayette
County in 2009. In January 2009, a fox and 2 skunks tested positive
for rabies. In 2008, Fayette County had 4 reported cases of rabies,
3 in bats and one in a skunk.
-
- Rabies, a viral disease of humans, pets and wild animals,
is transmitted from animals to humans by the saliva of a rabid animal,
usually from a bite.
-
- State law requires that all dogs, cats and ferrets maintain
a current rabies vaccination.
-
- Rabies signs vary among species of animals. In humans,
the disease is marked by an onset of headache, fever and malaise,
and eventually coma and usually death.
-
- Lexington residents who suspect an animal to be rabid
are advised to call the Lexington Health Department immediately at
(859) 231-9791.
-
-
- http://www.kentucky.com/181/story/691020.html
-
- -- Communicated by: ProMED-mail Rapporteur: Susan Baekeland
-
- [This seems to be an unusual season for rabies. We have
noted several posting for rabies in the last week or 2. Perhaps our
weather conditions are causing animals to move more in search of
food?
-
- The article does not indicate whether the horse acquired
rabies from a skunk, which is quite common, but it provides another
opportunity to remind our readers that vaccinating horses against
rabies is very cheap insurance to protect yourselves and your children.
- Mod.TG]
-
- Date: 20 Feb 2009 Source: Silver City Sun News [edited]
http://www.scsun-news.com/ci_11745205
-
- A 2nd bobcat in the region has tested positive for rabies,
the New Mexico Department of Health reported on Thursday [19 Feb
2009] afternoon. The bobcat was discovered dead just east of Lake
Roberts on 11 Feb 2009 and was confirmed rabies-positive on Thursday
[19 Feb 2009].
-
- The bobcat was the 2nd rabid bobcat found within 5 days.
The 1st bobcat attacked an unvaccinated dog in Mimbres on 6 Feb 2009
and was confirmed rabies-positive on 11 Feb 2009. The bobcat was
shot by the landowner.
-
- "It's unusual to see these kinds of cases,"
said Chris Minnick, New Mexico Department of Health public information
officer. According to state public health veterinarian Dr Paul Ettestad,
the bobcats were most likely infected by rabid foxes.
-
- New Mexico Game and Fish wildlife conservation officer
John Armijo said he and his staff have held discussions on the prevention
of rabies in foxes and bobcats but have not yet come to any conclusions.
"We haven't come up with anything affirmative yet," he
said. Armijo said he wasn't alarmed by the 2 rabid bobcats. "Obviously,
rabies has been around for awhile," he said. "It's a lot
more prevalent right now" due to the large number of animals.
Two foxes in Grant County have tested positive for rabies in 2009.
Last year [2008], there were 28 cases of rabies in New Mexico, including
18 foxes and one dog in the southwestern area of New Mexico. There
were 14 foxes and one dog with rabies in Grant County, 2 foxes in
Catron County and one fox in Sierra and Hidalgo counties, according
to the Department of Health.
-
- Rabid foxes have been a problem for decades in Arizona,
but were 1st detected in New Mexico in the Glenwood area of Catron
County in 2007. "Grant County residents need to be vigilant
in their efforts to prevent rabies from affecting their families
and their pets," Ettestad said in a prepared statement. "Rabies
is a fatal disease that can be prevented with vaccination but cannot
be cured once it has been diagnosed." If anyone sees a suspicious
looking or dead animal, they are encouraged to call Armijo at (575)
534-4023 or the Santa Fe central dispatch at (505) 827-9376.
-
- By Holly Wise
-
- -- communicated by: ProMED-mail rapporteur Susan
Baekeland
-
- [Inaccurate statements from the above article have been
edited out. Rabies is a viral infection. There are different strains
of the virus, but it is always possible to transmit rabies from an
infected animal to a non-infected animal or person.
-
- Generally with an animal, the brain or the whole head
is sent to the state laboratory for confirmation of rabies. The Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia usually
only does strain typing of the rabies virus.
-
- There are a number of strains of the virus: skunk strain,
raccoon strain, bat strain and others. No strain is confined to the
species it is named for. For example, the bobcat could have died
of raccoon or bat strains of rabies. It would be useful to know which
strains are circulating in the area.
-
- It seems the trend of rabies is increasing in New Mexico.
Perhaps the state should initiate a rabies campaign to remind owners
to vaccinate their dogs, cats, horses and other show animals, as
all mammals are susceptible to the rabies virus. The state may want
to consider oral rabies vaccination for its wildlife. - 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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