Rabies, while not a common infliction for pet health, can be transmitted to our prospective friends. Simply because one raccoon or alternative carrier tests positive for rabies does not indicate there will not be others. That being said, it doesn’t indicate that we’re in the middle of a rabies epidemic. At this time the most important thing is education on the virus and the risk variables.
Many men and women consider the film ‘Cujo’ whenever they consider rabies. They see that a crazy vicious dog that attacks everything, the reality is much different where pet health is concerned. Rabies is a virus that affects the brain and can manifest itself in several ways like strange behavior, shocking, and weakness. Once an animal or a person has been bitten it could take months for symptoms to develop. Regrettably, there is no cure. Rabies is a virus that’s terminal when it reaches the mind and physical symptoms begin. Worldwide there are approximately 60,000 deaths each year by rabies. Only 1 person has survived being infected but she will never recover from the brain damage she sustained.
There are a couple of species that are deemed high risk for rabies and can have an effect on pet health. The main threat is raccoons with 154 cases or 63.6% of all wild animal cases in certain states in the US. Following raccoons, skunks had 42 cases or 17.4 percent, bats had 28 cases or 11.5 percent, and foxes with 16 instances or 7.5 percent. In our domestic animals, a very surprising statistic shows up with just over ten percent of carriers would be our pets. The national average is much wider with 75% of domestic animal ailments being cats. Another interesting statistic is that pets and humans have generally different dangers for exposure. Overwhelmingly our pets have been infected by raccoons, skunks, and foxes. In humans, worldwide 95 percent of those infections occurred through dog bites. Having your pet vaccinated against rabies is the very best method to keep a layer of security between wild animals and humans. Secondly, bats are a huge threat, generally, because snacks go unnoticed due to how the bats reside in the attic of the home. Normally, bat bites are small and we can also sleep. It’s very important to look at your attic and roof for signs of bats and have them removed if found. To safeguard our pets a couple of simple steps must also be taken. First, making certain that your animal is current on vaccines is remarkably significant.
How do you protect your pet’s health? You first have to be certain your pet is current on its rabies vaccine. At this time, there are both one-year and three-year vaccines out there. If your pet is not current on its vaccines, and the creature that bit your furry friend was a raccoon, a fox, or even a skunk you’ll need to call the local police and alert the health department. They might wish the wild animal caught or killed to have it tested for rabies. There’s another benefit to having your pet vaccinated. If they bite an individual and are current on their vaccines then they have to be quarantined for just 10 days for monitoring. If your pet is unvaccinated or past due on pathogens and it bites a person it will have to be quarantined for six weeks to be observed for symptoms. The baseline for our pets is that the rabies vaccine works and with no, you are carrying a lot of risks with the number of rabies cases we have observed in our region. Please report any odd acting critters to Environmental Health or Animal Control and don’t take things into your own hands.
Preventive health care, such as routine exams, vaccinations, parasite prevention, pet ultrasound, and good nutrition is essential to ensuring that your pet has a long, happy life.
At Poster Veterinary Associates, we consider consistent prevention is the key to life-long health for the pets we handle.
We’ll work with you to make a customized strategy for the pet. Our preventive health care choices will help make sure your pet is happy and healthy. Visit us for more information.