How does Rabies factor into SS?

[big brown horse]

Hey, I know Texas had a rabies quarantine, you can't transport horses (or any other animal) over the state lines without proof that they had their rabies vaccine. They were pretty serious about it too. You couldn't even give your own rabies shots like you could in other states. A vet had to do it and records had to be kept etc.

What about other states? Anyone know?

 

[sylvie]

Meriruka-
That's exactly the kind of information that we need to know!
Even though we have a lot in our area, I don't think I'd be able to look at one and say I know for sure. I don't want them to attack first so very interested in the behavior(proactive).

No idea about the burning barrel. I figure our health dept puts them in the landfill. The good thing is that you removed the threat to your family and animals. That is what I am asking about from folks who have had interactions with rabid animals and what you would do.

ETA -Got the posts mixed up. All sorted out now. I hope.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

From my understanding the aversion to water is the result of throat spasms, hydrophobia is a misnomer because they have aversion to swallowing food, too. The otter's environment is water so it makes sense that it would be there.

OK, I linked to this definition which discusses the throat spasms:
http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/rabies

That's what I figured, that since it was a fairly aquatic creature it would make some sense it would still be in water.

Then again, individual animals respond differently to rabies, there are several different reactions from depression to aggression and everything in between.

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Hey, I know Texas had a rabies quarantine, you can't transport horses (or any other animal) over the state lines without proof that they had their rabies vaccine. They were pretty serious about it too. You couldn't even give your own rabies shots like you could in other states. A vet had to do it and records had to be kept etc.

What about other states? Anyone know?

Vets have to give it here as well.

Although, I don't know many people here who vaccinate their horses against rabies. The main vaccines here are the tetanus, encephalitis, and the west nile. We do have to have coggins tests.

 

[big brown horse]

This is why we vaccinated in TX:

The CDC report lists Texas with 1,022 cases in 2008, 400 more than the next closest state, Virginia. And in a year when the national number of cases declined by 3 percent, Texas cases were up for the third straight year. It had 890 cases in 2006 and 969 in 2007.

Texas state motto: "The-Where-Everything-is-Out-to-Get-Ya-State"

 

[meriruka]

Glad I'm not in Texas, unfortunately, I'm in Virginia.:/

 

[patandchickens]

Okay I am trying not to sound frivolous, but has anyone else seen or heard of rabies and the symptoms in animals and immediately thought what if it mutated in humans, that would be exactly like zombie apocalypse. Just saying!

We already have a few diseases and conditions that have similar symptoms.

Not to mention rabies itself, which is certainly a disease of humans too! Plenty of people die of it, IIRC it is well into the tens of thousands or more per year worldwide, mostly from bites from rabid stray or feral dogs.

Note that many people picture rabies symptoms as being aggression and excitability and so forth, but its presentation actually varies a LOT, including the so-called 'dumb' form that is more commonly seen in animals such as cows or horses. It is not something you can rely on identifying by eye.

Disposing of an animal with rabies (or suspected rabies) is not actually a big deal -- just make darn sure that nothing can be eatin' at it for the first couple days. Thorough burning would do that, of course, but so would deep burial or even just sealing into an animal proof container til the carcass is good and rotten (although, when you went to dispose of it, eeuuuuwww ) The rabies virus does not live long at ALL outside a living animal... its reservoir in the environment is in infected animals that are still in the latent phase (where they've been infected by the virus but it has not yet reached the brain or salivary glands and is thus neither symptomatic nor infectious to others). Obviously if you are handling the carcass of a possibly-infected animal you wanna be careful, as in wearing gloves that are washed and let sit a good while afterwards, and not doing things that might propel bodily fluids at your face, and so forth. Just basic common sense.

I did an article on rabies for Countryside, the Sept/Oct 2008 issue, if anyone cares -- it includes links to some websites that give state-by-state species-by-species rabies data by year, but I do not seem to be able to find that on my computer anymore, googling should get you the websites if you are interested.

Pat

 

[kcsunshine]

This is why we vaccinated in TX:

The CDC report lists Texas with 1,022 cases in 2008, 400 more than the next closest state, Virginia. And in a year when the national number of cases declined by 3 percent, Texas cases were up for the third straight year. It had 890 cases in 2006 and 969 in 2007.

Texas state motto: "The-Where-Everything-is-Out-to-Get-Ya-State"

Of course Texas would have more - everything's bigger in Texas.