Yikes! Rabies Awareness. Watch letting the dog out in the backyard at night. Linda Ayer – Board of Health The Vermont Department of Health has detected 27 positive rabies tests on animals in 2013. Those tests include three Burlington wildlife samples of a bat in January, a Raccoon in April and a skunk in May. Bats are increasingly implicated in human rabies cases. Rabies is a fatal viral disease found mainly in wildlife but can infect domestic animals and humans. The virus can be contracted through the bite of an infected animal. There is a very low risk of getting rabies from other contact like petting or handling animals. However, if an animal bites you wash the wound immediately and call your doctor. You cannot tell whether an animal has rabies by simply looking at it. Rabid animals show a change in their normal behavior. They may show unusual aggression, extreme depression or bizarre behavior. Residents are advised to avoid any animal that exhibits strange behavior. Don’t try to trap or capture the animal yourself or handle dead or sick bats. Call the Rabies hotline at 1-800-472-2437 (800- 4-RABIES) or 1-802-233-8697. To reduce your risk, give all your pets rabies shots. For more rabies information visit the VT Department of Health web site. healthvermont.gov Austin Sumner MD MPH Environmental and Occupational Health Specialist
Posted on: Thu, 27 Jun 2013 21:00:25 +0000
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