Published: July 18, 2008 04:43 pm      

Rabies Russian Roulette? United effort key to stemming disease

Four southern West Virginia counties now have an opportunity to take a proactive stance against the spread of rabies.

Mercer, Monroe, Greenbrier and Summers counties have been presented the option of combining resources to hire a United States Department of Agriculture trained wildlife technician to help residents in need of assistance in dealing with a wildlife risk — such as a raccoon in a basement or garage or a strange-acting skunk in the back yard.

Currently, many counties — notably Mercer — do not have the staff or training to quickly, effectively and safely deal with such potential hazards. The result: County officials, such as health department employees and police officers, as well as homeowners are putting themselves at risk for potential rabies exposure.

It’s an unacceptable situation.

In Mercer County, which has the highest number of rabies cases in the entire state, no county health department employees have had pre-exposure vaccinations or educational training on how to handle potentially rabid wildlife.

At a county-wide meeting held in Mercer County last month — attended by the public along with officials from both Mercer and Monroe counties — representatives from the USDA and state Department of Health and Human Resources heard concerns and requests for help in stemming the spread of rabies.

In response to the meeting, the USDA sent a report to health departments proposing the hiring of the wildlife technician to assist the people of Mercer and Monroe, along with adjacent Greenbrier and Summers counties.

The proposal is simple. The wildlife technician would be hired for a six-month period, from spring to fall (the most prevalent seasons for rabies), and would be on call to residents and officials in all four counties to trap or catch any potentially rabid animals.

The technician would have all the tools and equipment in the USDA arsenal, as well as pre-rabies vaccinations and training. It’s anticipated the technician could respond to any call within the four-county area within 24 hours or less, Chris Crosen, state director of USDA Wildlife Services, said last week.

“They would be able to catch and test the animals for rabies,” Crosen said. “They would test with our lab, and get results quickly. In addition, one of the biggest parts to successful rabies control is information and education. The technician would not be responding to sick-acting raccoons every day, and during that time would be going around to schools and businesses giving educational presentations.”

Total cost for the program, including the technician’s salary and all travel, testing and other expenses, would be $6,000 per county.

Depending on one’s perspective, that funding amount may seem like a little, or a lot. But, again, it’s all about perspective.

Rabies causes one to three deaths in humans each year, epidemiologist David J. Henzler, with the Bureau of Public Health, Infectious Disease Epidemiology Program, told the Daily Telegraph during his visit to Mercer County last month. But, he added, “I’m surprised it’s not more.”

Chilling words from a rabies specialist.

One can not put a price on the life of a child or adult who dies from rabies. So, we must ask ourselves how long we want to continue to play Rabies Russian Roulette in southern West Virginia.

We don’t think the odds in this game are good for the people of this region.

We strongly encourage officials in this four-county region to hire the USDA technician in an immediate proactive approach to help stem the spread of this fatal disease.

This united initiative could very well be a matter of life and death.