Published: July 24, 2008 09:33 pm            

Citizens’ awareness important part of controlling rabies

GREEN VALLEY — Get dogs and cats vaccinated. Don’t feed raccoons. Either adopt neighborhood strays or have them picked up. Don’t leave food where wild animals can find it. Get pets spayed or neutered. These are a few of the ways Mercer County residents can help get rabies under control.

People being bitten by animals and rabies throughout the country were among the topics discussed Thursday by the Mercer County Health Department Board of Directors. One hundred cases involving pets, stray dogs and cats, and wild animals have been reported in the county so far this year, said Doris Irwin, RN, BSW. Approximately 200 incidents were reported in 2007.

“We’re working on animals bites as hard as we can,” said Melody Rickman, RN and administrator for the health department. “For each animal bite we get, we do a one on one investigation, and they do take a lot of time. We’re doing the best we can and we’re getting to them as quick as we can.”

Three people are currently being treated with post-exposure rabies shots at Princeton Community Hospital, Rickman said. One dog that bit a person could not be found and another involved a stray cat. When a pet or wild animal that bit a person cannot be found and observed, post exposure rabies shots are recommended.

In June, an open forum concerning raccoon rabies in Mercer County was hosted in Green Valley by the county health department with representatives of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the state Department of Health. The USDA later recommended hiring a regional rabies officer for Mercer, McDowell, Summers and Greenbrier counties. The officer would respond within 24 hours to rabies cases involving live animals.

This plan calls for each county to contribute $6,000 to pay the officer’s fee and cover related expenses. Mercer County Commission President Joe Coburn, who is also chairman of the Mercer County Board of Health, said the county was looking at the proposal.

“We’ll talk and see what we can do,” he said.

County residents have ways to help get rabies under control, Irwin said.

“Don’t feed raccoons, get dogs and cats immunized and focus on eliminating food sources,” she said. In many cases pets and rabid raccoons fight when the latter tries to eat dog or cat food left outside. Raccoons also raid garbage cans and trash left outdoors in bags.

Another rabies sources involves “minimally claimed” dogs and cats, Irwin said. They roam neighborhoods where people feed them; either they are neglected or do not actually belong to any one person.

“Nobody wants to turn them over to animal control officers, but they don’t want to pay for veterinary costs. They don’t want to spay or neuter them or buy a rabies shot,” she said. “These animals are poorly socialized and more likely to bite somebody like the mailman or a kid on a bike.”

Immunizations protect both pets and their owners, but owners must remember that rabies shots are not “puppy shots,” Irwin said. They must be renewed regularly.

“When in doubt, call your vet and make sure your pet is up to date,” she said.

— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com

        

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