World Rabies Day

World Rabies Day

               September 28^th is World Rabies Day, a day to bring awareness to one of the world’s deadliest diseases.  Cases of rabies in humans are infrequent in the United States with only about one to three cases per year, and survival is more likely today especially if treated swiftly.  However, about 59,000 people die from rabies each year in other parts of the world, especially in Africa and Asia.  Despite human cases of rabies infection in the U.S., hundreds of thousands of animals need to be placed under observation or be tested for rabies each year, and between 30,000 to 60,000 people need to receive rabies postexposure prophylaxis due to exposure to the virus.

               Rabies is a virus that affects the nervous system causing symptoms such as difficulty swallowing, excess salivation, fever, confusion, staggering, and aggression.  Rabies is found in the saliva and infection most commonly occurs through a bite wound. All mammals can potentially be infected but the most commonly affected wild animals include bats, skunks, raccoons, fox and coyotes.  Domestic animals are also at risk, including dogs, cats, ferrets, horses, cattle and sheep.  Animals such as birds, reptiles and amphibians are not affected by rabies.  Infection is highly fatal, especially once symptoms appear. Cats represent a large number of positive rabies cases in domestic animals.

               In Pennsylvania, there were a total of 228 cases of rabies positive animals identified in so far in 2024.  There has been one positive dog, but cats remain the most commonly affected domestic animals with 42 cases in PA, 6 of which were in York County.  Of wild animals, raccoons had the highest incidence of rabies with 89 cases across Pennsylvania, followed by 45 bats, 22 fox, 16 skunks and 2 groundhogs.  There were a  total of 47 rabies cases (including 14 cats) from Region 6 in South Central Pennsylvania which includes York as well as Lancaster, Dauphin, Franklin, Adams and Perry Counties. Pennsylvania ranks among the top five states for rabies positive animals in the US and had the most cases of rabies reported in cats last year.  The others are Texas, Virginia, New York, and North Carolina. Not a good stat to be known for.

               Safe, effective vaccines are available for dogs, cats and ferrets as well as livestock and should be administered by a licensed veterinarian every one to three years for the life of the pet.  Rabies is required by PA state law and owners of unvaccinated pets may be fined up to $300.

It is so important to have your pets vaccinated regularly against rabies not only to prevent infection in our companion animals but also in ourselves.  Even pets who live indoors can have exposure if a rabid animal gets into your house.  If you suspect your pet has been bitten by a wild animal, especially if bitten by an animal displaying unusual symptoms, contact your veterinarian immediately and have the wild animal killed and tested for rabies if at all possible.  If your pet is not up to date on rabies vaccination, he or she may need to be quarantined in your home for up to 180 days depending on the situation.  If you are bitten by or were exposed to a wild animal or are bitten by a cat or dog of unknown rabies status, seek medical attention immediately. 

Help prevent rabies by properly vaccinating pets and livestock, limiting pets from roaming free, preventing attraction of wildlife by not leaving garbage or food outside and by bat-proofing your home, never approaching or handling wildlife and reporting any wild animals that are acting strangely to the animal control officer.

               Rabies is a completely preventable disease with proper vaccination. 

This blog brought to you by the Patton Veterinary Hospital serving Red Lion, York and the surrounding communities.

https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/one-health/rabies

https://www.agriculture.pa.gov/Animals/AHDServices/diseases/Pages/Rabies.aspx

https://www.cdc.gov/worldrabiesday/index.html

https://padeptag.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/54d1f26ee4bc4ad8bd284ff50d500780