rabid racoon in my back yard!

[lbaker]

We DID report it. Twice, the first time it came into the yard and several hours later when it returned. It was animal control that came to pick it up. We have already alerted all our neighbors and it will be printed up in the weekly Gazette under "Animal Reports". I have been on the phone with animal control. They are the ones that called me at work to report the postive results and that we had the follow up call about. We DID report it immediately. I said in my first post that we called animal control at the first sign of this poor, sick racoon.

[Callie]

It is well that the rabid animal was dispatched to a better place BUT rabies doesn't 'just happen' to an animal. It is quite possible that this is just the first notice to humans that rabies may be reaching epidemic proportions in the wild...and that means trouble for humans and pets.

Where do you suppose the raccoon got the rabies? Any warm blooded animal (including humans) can carry the disease and pass it on. To protect everyone, the source of this should be investigated in the local area and then rooted out as much as possible.

Bats are a frequent carrier and you do NOT have to be bitten to be infected. Simply going into an attic (for example) where rabid bats have been and breathing in the dust from their droppings can be deadly. This being so, the search should NOT be done by uninformed, improperly prepared, individuals.

I know whereof I speak...we found a rabid bat on our living room carpet one morning. It was promptly dispatched and taken to the health department. I had had a 'dream' about something trying to bite me during the night so I went through a thorough magnifying glass inspection stem to stern. Found nothing. I opted to wait (because of allergies) for 3 weeks. Pure hell!

We discovered the bats had invaded our attic. We threw mothballs up there to drive them out and stood outside firing away as they exited. Then we closed up every vent, hole, crack, etc we could find. No more bats in the attic.

I do wish you all the best but the job isn't done until the source of the infection is isolated as much as possible. Your health department should be following up to make sure innocent others were not inadvertently infected before your situation occurred.

You'll be in my prayers.

Callie

[lbaker]

You are exactly right Callie, reading up on rabies through the CDC web site is a real eye opener. Very scary but very informative. Animal Control is very thorough in this county. Between Animal Control, word of mouth and the write up in the Gazette we are all hoping to make our "neighborhood watch" do more than watch for suspicious two-leggers this time.

[Ginger's Mom]

I, too, was very confused by your initial post, thanks for clearing that up for us. I will pray that no one suffers any ill-effects from this encounter (other than having to take the shots, ugh!), and that there are no other rabid animals found in your area. And as far as I am concerned all I can say is I am glad that none of the dogs were in the yard at the time.

[Cinder & Smoke]

Rabies Information *links* >>>

A private information site - that gives citations for many of its information points >
http://www.rabies.com/html/welcome.html


The US CDC (Center for Disease Control) site >>>
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/rabies/prevention&control/preventi.htm

From the CDC page:
"Postexposure prophylaxis
Postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) is indicated for persons possibly exposed to a rabid animal. Possible exposures include animal bites, or mucous membrane contamination with infectious tissue, such as saliva. {For more information on types of exposures, see Human Rabies Prevention - United States, 1999 Recommendations of the Immunization Practices Advisory Committee (ACIP).} PEP should begin as soon as possible after an exposure. There have been no vaccine failures in the United States (i.e. someone developed rabies) when PEP was given promptly and appropriately after an exposure.

Administration of rabies PEP is a medical urgency, not a medical emergency. Physicians should evaluate each possible exposure to rabies and as necessary consult with local or state public health officials regarding the need for rabies prophylaxis.

Postexposure prophylaxis regimen
In the United States, PEP consists of a regimen of one dose of immune globulin and five doses of rabies vaccine over a 28-day period. Rabies immune globulin and the first dose of rabies vaccine should be given as soon as possible after exposure. Additional doses of rabies vaccine should be given on days 3, 7, 14, and 28 after the first vaccination. Current vaccines are relatively painless and are given in your arm, like a flu or tetanus vaccine.

What to do after a possible exposure
If you are exposed to a potentially rabid animal, wash the wound thoroughly with soap and water, and seek medical attention immediately. A health care provider will care for the wound and will assess the risk for rabies exposure."

/s/ Phred

[Twisterdog]

If your dogs were current on their rabies vaccinations, why would they be quarantined at all? Is that a state law? Yikes.

My state law says that if you can show lifetime proof of rabies vaccinations, your dog will not be quarantined, killed, etc. if they are bitten by a rabid animal or if they bite a person or another animal. If you cannot prove they have had rabies vaccinations, they will be killed.

One of my employees was bitten by a stray cat. The cat ran away and they could never find it. So she had to get the shots. Painful, and expensive! Sorry you have to go through that!

[TamanduaGirl]

no vaccine is 100% effective. They are worried about human health risk. Most states, and i think CDC recommends a quarantine for an animal bitten by an animal suspected for rabies. My state used to require any dog bitten by a wild animal be killed and tested! They now allow a quarantine if bitten and vaccinated a longer one if not vaccinated and you are willing to pay the price if not then killed and tested too.