Porcupines and Rabies

Porcupines are not usually carriers of rabies (happy thought!) but needles in dogs, foxes, raccoons, and other animals is often used as an indicator of rabies (because rabid animals are more likely to attack a porcupine).

All About Porcupines

Rabid Bat Alert in Annapolis

This is a little too close to home....

rabid bat alert!

Since May, bats infected with rabies have been detected in six communities. Health officials issued notices to residents in those communities, advising them how to take precautions against rabies.

Rabies fact sheets also have been issued at county libraries and community health fairs.

Residents who come in contact with bats should call county Animal Control, which handles such reports 24 hours a day. The agency will attempt to capture the bat and get it tested....

From May 13 to June 11, seven rabid bats were found in Annapolis, Crofton, Glen Burnie, Millersville, Pasadena and Severna Park. Health officials said they are concerned because their active season isn't over yet and these levels already are exceeding previous years.

RIP Dr. George Baer, Father of Oral Rabies Vaccination

We pause to remember Dr. George Baer,

Death of Dr. George Baer

Dr. George Martin Baer, 73, of Mexico City and formerly of Atlanta, died June 2 from complications of a suspected heart attack at his home. Funeral services were held June 4 in Mexico City at the Iglesia de Santa Rosa de Lima. A memorial service will be held in Atlanta at a later date.

Born in London, Dr. Baer grew up in New Rochelle, N.Y., where he developed an early love for animals. He graduated from the Westtown School in Westtown, Pa., and in the late 1950s earned two degrees at Cornell University — a bachelor's in agricultural sciences and a degree in veterinary medicine. He got a master's degree in public health from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.

His career in public health began at the New York state health department in Albany, where he researched rabies and other diseases. In 1964, he researched bat rabies at the CDC's Southwest Rabies Investigations Station in Las Cruces, N.M.

Four years later, he became head of the CDC's rabies laboratory in Atlanta, where he and others made history. He earned acclaim as "the father of oral rabies vaccination." His book, "The Natural History of Rabies," has been a worldwide reference since 1975.

Elephant Rabies?

Many of my loyal readers have written to ask about awful elephant rabies stories. There is only one and it is documented here:

http://www.zoosprint.org/ZooPrintJournal/2006/February/2172.pdf

Key information:

An 84-year-old female domesticated elephant presented with a 4-day history of lethargy. Appetite and water intake was normal but the following day she was unsteady, aggressive and restless. There were secretions from both temporal glands. On the sixth day she was completely anorectic, had developed paralysis of the trunk and was unable to stand, falling each time she tried to stand up, and she was noticed to be blind. She died on the ninth day after the first symptoms were observed. PM examination showed the brain to be more vascular than normal and a brain smear was positive for rabies antigen.

According to the Zoosprint article above, "elephants usually get bitten either on the trunk or hind limbs. During the last year (2007) one elephant was bitten on its trunk by a stray dog and was given post exposure vaccination and did not develop rabies. Because these elephants are always tethered they are more prone to wounds on their hind limbs. Hence the chances of transmission of rabies through lick from a rabid animal are very high."

How sad!

Here is a youtube clip that is interesting:

You Tube Rabies Alert

Why one should not move to Arizona

From Maryland has 431 cases this year!


Nov 24, 2008
DVM NEWSMAGAZINE


Phoenix. -- As of Nov. 7, with nearly two months left in the year, the the Arizona Department of Health Services already reports a record-breaking year for rabies cases.
Since January, the state's laboratory confirmed 162 cases in animals, 38 cases in humans and 119 cases of pet exposure to rabid animals.

Last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tallied 159 cases of rabies in Arizona, with all occurring in wild animals -- primarily bats. That was nearly a 14 percent increase from the 140 cases in 2006, but the ADHS says 2006 figures were down from the 169 cases confirmed in 2005.

Texas led the nation last year in rabies cases with 969, followed by Virginia with 730 and New York with 512. Maryland reported 431 cases last year, according to the CDC.

The increase in Arizona is being attributed to three factors, says Laura Oxley, ADHS spokeswoman. First, surveillance is better, and authorities believe there aren't more cases per se, but more are being reported. Second, rabies is a cyclical disease and often goes through high and low levels, Oxley says. Lastly, Arizona still is a developing state and, as population increases and residential communities spread out, people and pets are closer to wild-animal habitats.

To help combat the spread of rabies, the ADHS issued a warning and tips to reduce exposure, including keeping pets vaccinated, keeping away from animals that appear to be sick and keeping pets fenced or contained to reduce their contact with wild animals.

Apparently Sept 28 is Rabies Awareness Day (missed it!)

World Rabies Day raises awareness about education, vaccination

Sep 26, 2008
By: Rachael Whitcomb
DVM NEWSMAGAZINE

International Report -- Every year, more than 30,000 people in the United States are exposed to rabies. Worldwide, about 55,000 people die from the virus, equaling about one totally preventable human death every 10 minutes.
Many cases originate from contact with animals carrying the deadly virus, so veterinarians and other animal care workers are especially at risk.

Staying up-to-date on vaccinations and educating the public about the risks associated with rabies and how infection can be prevented are key elements to keeping the spread of rabies at bay. The initiation of World Rabies Day last year was a combined effort by numerous animal and human health organizations to spread the word about rabies, and that effort is continuing this year with the second annual World Rabies Day observation on Sunday (Sept. 28).
World Rabies Day, a global rabies awareness campaign, is spearheaded by the United Kingdom charity Alliance for Rabies Control (ARC) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Last year, at least 74 countries participated in World Rabies Day events, which included vaccination clinics, lectures and education programs, parades, festivals, and dog walks. World Rabies Day organizers had hoped to have about 55,000 involved in the first year's events on Sept. 8 last year, but the group says its data indicates that more than 393,000 took part in World Rabies Day programs. Media efforts help spread the word about rabies prevention to millions of people worldwide, and more than 600,000 vaccines were administered.

"Vaccination prior to possible exposure is a crucial part of health management of domestic animals, and is the single most important factor in rabies prevention," says Peter Costa, global communications coordinator for ARC.


But where to start?

Rabies is considered one of the world's oldest viral problems, with the first written record of the infection in dogs dating back to 1930 B.C. It was virtually eradicated in the United Kingdom through strict wandering animal and vaccination regulations in the 20th century, but raccoons have increased the spread of the disease in the United States, and recent pet booms have increased the incidence of infection in East Asia. Beijing in China has instituted a one-dog per person policy to help control the spread of the disease, while India reports the highest incidence of human rabies anywhere in the world.

So, while the human rabies vaccine first was developed by Louis Pasteur -- who died on Sept. 28, 1895 -- and Emile Roux more than 120 years ago, the world is still grappling with the spread of the virus. Why does this continue, and why have world leaders decided only now to embark on large-scale education efforts about rabies?

A lot has been discovered in the last century about the disease, and Dr. Charles Rupprecht of the CDC says it has come to a point where researchers know just about all they will ever learn about the disease. So the focus, he says, needs to become combating the disease rather than trying to understand it.

"It was the synthesis of the scientific process that led all of us to the eureka moment that it's not going to be someone else who says this is the moment. It has to be self discovery and self enlightment to create a movement," Rupprecht says. "You reach a certain point where previously in your career, you've always been mentored. Then you wake up and realize you are the generation that needs to make it happen."

The creation of a worldwide event to spread information about rabies is something Rupprecht says he and members of the World Health Organization have discussed for years. But now that the human-animal bond is increasing, and domestic animals are in greater contact with wildlife as they move into suburban areas, there is even more concern. People need to be reminded constantly to vaccinate their pets and the simple message of "if you can touch it, don't" for people who find it hard to resist the urge to welcome wild animals with open arms.

The three overlapping messages Rupprecht and the other World Rabies Day originators came up with are simple: human rabies can be prevented; canine rabies can be eliminated, not just controlled; and there needs to be a greater focus on offering oral vaccinations to free-range animal populations.

Efforts meet obstacles

Despite the best intentions, there still are obstacles to preventing rabies.

Cost is one major factor. Many developing countries that live in close contact with both domestic and animal populations can't afford regular veterinary care like vaccinations. The annual estimated cost of rabies prevention in the U.S. alone is more than $300 million, and that cost is primarily for the vaccination of dogs, according to the CDC.

Global warming may also pose problems for controlling the spread of the virus, as wildlife is forced into more limited areas, resulting in more contact between different species, Rupprecht says. Animal populations are shifting areas along with climate change, too, and bringing new diseases like rabies into new areas that might be naïve to their effects.

Perhaps one of the largest obstacles, however, is a shortage of human vaccine supplies. On Sept. 4, Novartis announced it would no longer ship supplies of its human rabies vaccine, so that doses could be retained for emergency use by state and local public health authorities.

The human vaccine supply problem began in June 2007, when Sanofi Pasteur renovated its vaccine production facility in France to comply with new French and U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations. The renovations will be complete sometime in 2009, but only a limited amount of the vaccine is available until then. In the meantime, vaccines made by other companies, like Novartis, are being stretched thin.

While supplies of rabies pre- and post-exposure vaccines are "much less than ideal," Rupprecht says he has been meeting with a vaccine committee in Washington, D.C. to address the shortage and discuss the creation of a national stockpile of rabies vaccines.

"The inability to supply vaccine to all exposed individuals should not occur," Rupprecht says.

Where there doesn't seem to be any fear of a shortage is in oral vaccines for wildlife populations. Merial alone has produced more than 100 million doses of its oral vaccine that was approved for the immunization of raccoons and coyotes. It also has produced more than 400 million doses of another vaccine approved for use in six different species and more than 12 million feline rabies vaccines.

To continue its progress, Merial also launched a contest last year with the Student American Veterinary Medical Association among 26 veterinary colleges to host rabies awareness events and education programs. The winning school, Tuskegee University, will get to host an on-site rabies symposium sponsored by Merial Oct. 18.


Spreading the word

World Rabies Day allows organizations from all over the world to come together to offer education and free vaccination clinics. It will be celebrated Sept. 28 this year with a major symposium at the CDC. But World Rabies Day will not be a one-stop event. Events are planned throughout the year all over the world as authorities aim to re-educate each continent about the disease and what impact it could have if not addressed.

In the United States alone, more than 30 events were scheduled in observation of World Rabies Day.
In Africa, a national event took place in Angola in July involving a door-to-door vaccination plan. Other events scheduled in Africa include mass vaccinations and festivals in the Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland and the United Republic of Tanzania.

In the Americas, Brazil hosted a number of events, as well as Canada. Grenada, Colombia, Mexico and Puerto Rico followed suit.

In Asia, China, several regions of India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand all scheduled events for World Rabies Day. Other participants world-wide include the Netherlands, the Syrian Arab Republic, Saint Kitts and Nevis.

Why one should move to Europe or Australia