Cats becoming prey to coyotes
'“We try to encourage people to keep their cats inside,” says Dennis Tabella of Defenders of Animals, an animal advocacy group. “Too many people are letting their cats out at night. Some people just don’t get it.” ... Lund says studies show that indoor cats live an average of 17 years or so, while outdoor cats average just 3 to 4 years. Outdoor cats may also be harmed by dogs, cars, people and other cats, she said.'
September 8, 2009
By Peter B. Lord, Journal Environment Writer plord@projo.com or 401-277-8036
The Providence Journal
75 Fountain Street
Providence Rhode Island 02902
401-277-7433
Fax: Please do not fax letters.
http://www.projo.com and http://www.projo.com/aboutus/contact.htm
To submit a Letter to the Editor: letters@projo.com (250-word limit)
This summer, posters for missing cats have become nearly as common in some suburban neighborhoods as “For Sale” signs in front of houses.
Despite the news reports for several years now that coyotes -- and more recently, fisher cats -- have become commonplace in Rhode Island, people continue to let their cats out at night and wonder why they don’t return in the morning.
“We try to encourage people to keep their cats inside,” says Dennis Tabella of Defenders of Animals, an animal advocacy group. “Too many people are letting their cats out at night. Some people just don’t get it.”
Cathy Lund, owner of City Kitty Veterinary Care, a cat-only veterinary office, says she strongly encourages her pet owners to keep their cats inside. She estimates about 90 percent do.
She can recall only one cat in her practice surviving a coyote attack. “The mortality rate is pretty high,” she said. “Most cats are domesticated, overweight and a little sedentary.”
Charlie Brown, a wildlife biologist at the state Department of Environmental Management, says he fields several hundred calls annually from people who are concerned about coyotes, and often their concerns begin with their pets.
He tries to make it clear: coyotes are now in every community in Rhode Island, except for Block Island.
“The average adult coyote is 35 to 40 pounds. The cat is a perfect size for them to go after. If coyotes get ahold of cats, they are gone.”
The experts who work at the intersection of the cat-coyote interactions insist the problem has been commonplace for several years, but many people just don’t want to accept the facts, or feel they can’t control their cats. The result is that cats continue to disappear at a fairly consistent rate. This is the most active period for coyotes because many are feeding young that were born in the spring.
Brown says coyotes began showing up in New England in the 1930s as forests reclaimed abandoned farmland. Rhode Island was the last state in New England to confirm their presence in 1969. (Apparently, coyotes were never part of the New England fauna because wolves kept them away before Europeans arrived and killed the wolves.)
“For ten years, they were sparse,” Brown said. “Now they are ubiquitous.”
Coyotes make their homes in cemeteries, river corridors, parks and small patches of woods. They gather to sleep and venture out alone at dawn or dusk to hunt. The biggest part of their diets is small mammals such as mice and squirrels. But they’ll also eat berries, trash, roadkill, compost, pet food and pets.
“They are pretty resourceful,” says Brown. “That’s the reason for their success.”
Fisher cats, small, bulky predators that are bigger than minks and smaller than river otters, returned to Rhode Island a few years ago, and they take some cats, too, Brown said. Fishers are native to New England and were extirpated by European hunters. But more often than not, he said, if a cat is missing, it’s because of coyotes.
When people call with concerns about coyotes, Brown advises them that 9 times out of 10, they can keep coyotes away by eliminating possible food sources such as trash, pet foods left outdoors — and pets left outdoors.
Several years ago, Warwick residents became alarmed about frequent sightings of coyotes in Warwick Neck. Brown, an adviser to the city, recalls the problem boiled down to people putting food out for the coyotes.
After that stopped, he said, “Miraculously, the coyotes disappeared.”
A special Coyote Commission in Warwick concluded in 2005 that the best way to manage coyotes was not to shoot or trap them. It was to educate the public about their behavior and feeding patterns so that people would stop leaving food out for them.
In Newport, Brown said, two coyotes became a nuisance after the coyotes became acclimated to the handouts. They wouldn’t go away, so they were euthanized.
Three years ago, the DEM established a coyote management policy that allows people to hunt coyotes at any time of year. But it also concluded that public education was the best solution for “negative interactions between coyotes and humans.”
There is a regulated trapping season for fishers, too, and property owners may shoot them if they threaten livestock, pets or crops. The carcass must be turned over to the DEM. There have been no recent complaints about fishers, according to the DEM.
Lund says studies show that indoor cats live an average of 17 years or so, while outdoor cats average just 3 to 4 years. Outdoor cats may also be harmed by dogs, cars, people and other cats, she said.
It may take a month to convert an outdoor cat to living indoors, she said. The key is to never give in. And, try starting in the winter when cats are less eager to go outside.
Tabella, of Defenders of Animals, recalls a cat in his neighborhood that was out all the time. A neighbor took it in and kept it in.
“He’s adjusted very well,” said Tabella. “But it takes some time.”
For more information on coyotes go to:
http://www.dem.ri.gov/programs/bnatres/fishwild/pdf/coyotes.pdf
For state coyote management policies, go to:
http://www.dem.ri.gov/programs/bnatres/fishwild/pdf/coyotpol.pdf
People with concerns about coyotes are encouraged to call the DEM at 401-789-0281.
Related Links:
Your Turn: Despite the warnings of coyotes in neighborhoods, do you still let your pet out at night?
http://www.projo.com/perl/common/surveys/display_full.pl?poll_id=24224&site=projo&vaction=voting&thissite=projo
Copyright 2009, The Providence Journal.
http://www.projo.com/news/content/Missing_cats_09-08-09_4NFFJME_v16.3a6293e.html
Showing posts with label PET. Show all posts
Showing posts with label PET. Show all posts
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
DOW officials give advice on keeping animals off property [wild animals]
DOW officials give advice on keeping animals off property [wild animals, that is]
"The kennel had high enough walls to keep the dog in, but its placement below a block ledge would have made it easy for a mountain lion to jump in, kill the dog and jump back out. ... Most predators hunt at night and are most active at dawn and dusk. People should keep that in mind when letting pets outside. ... Wild animals can carry diseases easily transmitted to house pets. That’s a concern."
(Note: Although this article is from Colorado, and the state agency is the Colorado Department of Wildlife, there is much helpful information.)
August 24, 2009
By Melinda Mawdsley, The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel melinda.mawdsley@gjsentinel.com
The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel "The Daily Sentinel is the largest paper on the Western Slope - distributing in 11 counties in western Colorado and eastern Utah."
P.O. Box 668
Grand Junction, Colorado 81502
970-242-5050
Fax: 970-241-6860
http://www.gjsentinel.com/
To submit a Letter to the Editor: letters@gjds.com (300-word limit)
Conflict between wild animals and humans may not be as big a problem in the Grand Valley as it is in neighboring, more mountainous communities, but problems still exist.
Some local confrontations draw attention, such as the June incident in which a Redlands dog was killed, presumably by a bobcat. Other issues, such as a bear rummaging through an Orchard Mesa neighborhood in July, don’t receive much publicity because they are handled quietly.
Regardless of the animal involved, or the seriousness of the confrontation, humans and wildlife have to coexist in western Colorado, said Randy Hampton, spokesman with the Colorado Division of Wildlife.
Learning how to protect personal property is important because it keeps people and animals safe, Hampton added.
On August 12, Hampton and DOW district wildlife manager Elissa Knox showed up unannounced at four properties near Grand Junction to point out the things — good or bad — property owners were doing to prevent unwanted encounters with wildlife.
During visits to the four homes, Knox gave suggestions about how to best avoid visits from skunks and raccoons or potentially fatal brushes with a bear or mountain lion.
The tour began on I Road near a drainage area commonly referred to as Hunter Wash. The DOW has received complaints about coyotes in the rural area between Grand Junction and Fruita.
Hunter Wash and other drainage basins in the area are access paths for wildlife — prey and predator — to move from the high country into the Grand Valley, Knox said. Drainage areas provide drinking water and sheltering vegetation.
Consequently, Knox and Hampton wanted to tour a property off 20 1/2 Road because it was near Hunter Wash. Matt Krueger allowed Knox on the land.
Pet food for the dog was outside in a bowl near the garage.
“If they leave it out all night, raccoons and skunks will take advantage,” Knox said.
Pet food — and pets — attract wild animals. Smaller animals such as skunks or raccoons won’t necessarily attack a dog or cat.
On the other hand, coyotes, bobcats and mountain lions — all of which live in the area — will.
Knox continued to walk around the property. A hummingbird feeder hung on wire under a patio overhang. Raccoons will climb on wires to get to bird feeders. And bears love to eat out of hummingbird feeders.
“It’s like candy for them,” Knox said.
A grill was below the hummingbird feeder. The grill was cleaned, and Krueger said the people who use the grill make sure they clean it because they know the smell attracts wildlife. But don’t forget to clean the drip pan, Knox advised.
Near the grill were live chickens. A wire fence kept the chickens inside, but it also will keep skunks, foxes and coyotes out.
“This is good fencing,” Knox said. “The mesh is small enough nothing can climb through. It’s strong with a good frame. The top is sharp, which is good.”
However, near the bottom was a hole with a heavy piece of lumber propped up against it, which would keep chickens in, but “if something is really determined to get in there, it will squeeze through,” Knox warned.
“I can walk out every night and smell a skunk,” Krueger said. “I hear the coyotes all the time over there.” He pointed toward Hunter Wash.
The property also had fruit trees, which “a family of raccoons will eat,” Knox said, and a large shed with horse feed. The feed is locked up in strong storage containers, Krueger said.
“This property is a good one (for potential wildlife encounters),” Knox said. “But it’s pretty well taken care of.”
The DOW tour moved from rural Fruita toward the Redlands, where the DOW has responded to animal calls of all sorts, Hampton said. The nearby Colorado River and Colorado National Monument are wildlife habitats.
Hampton and Knox stopped at Tony Miller’s house off South Rim Drive. Miller let Knox walk around the area, which overlooks the river.
His bird feeders were far from the house, and he typically does not feed birds in the summer. Both are good tips to follow if homeowners notice an increased wildlife presence, Knox said.
“I love wildlife, but I do everything to keep them wild,” Miller said.
He also had two fountains, which can attract thirsty animals, Knox said. Where thirsty animals such as deer roam, larger predators may follow, she added.
Knox and Hampton climbed back into the DOW Jeep and left the Redlands subdivision to tour another part of the Redlands that receives animal complaints: the Monument base.
“If you were a mountain lion and got to choose where you could live, this is the area you would choose,” Hampton said. The monument has a healthy deer population.
“Honestly, wherever you have a healthy deer population, there is the potential for a mountain lion presence,” Knox said.
Harry Hotimsky let Knox and Hampton walk around his property off Monument Road. Immediately, Hampton saw an open-top dog kennel placed below a ledge near the house.
“You don’t use that kennel, do you?” Hampton asked.
“Never,” Hotimsky answered back.
Chechu, a Labrador and Weimaraner mix, wasn’t a small dog, but it’s still prey trapped inside a kennel, Knox said.
The kennel had high enough walls to keep the dog in, but its placement below a block ledge would have made it easy for a mountain lion to jump in, kill the dog and jump back out. Mountain lions can jump 15 feet, Knox said.
Hotimsky said he hears coyotes “all the time” and frequently sees rabbits. When he first moved to the Monument area in 2001, he heard stories about homeowners losing cats or dogs.
Most predators hunt at night and are most active at dawn and dusk, Knox said. People should keep that in mind when letting pets outside, she added. Hampton heard a story years ago about how a coyote approached a home in the area and lured a dog away from a yard only to kill it with the help of other coyotes.
“It’s not only smart,” Hampton said. “It’s an adaptation. A rabbit will run from a coyote. A dog won’t.”
People who live in rural areas may be used to wildlife, and are well-versed about what they should or shouldn’t do to thwart encounters, but there are areas in the city where people might be surprised to learn wildlife and humans have made contact, and it didn’t always end well.
As recently as July 21, a bear was found rummaging through garbage off Edlun Road on Orchard Mesa near the Mesa County Fairgrounds. Because the Mesa County Fair was scheduled to start that week, the DOW had to locate the bear quickly to prevent a potential issue between the bear and 4-H animals at the fairgrounds, Hampton said.
Turns out, the bear in Orchard Mesa was the same bear found in early July inside the Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs. At that time, the DOW relocated the bear to the Uncompahgre Plateau.
“We pretty much put it in the middle of a berry patch,” Hampton said. “We want to give bears the opportunity to be bears.”
About one week later, the same bear, which had been tagged in Glenwood, was spotted in Gateway going through trash cans. It was never caught before it turned up in Grand Junction.
“It had become habituated to human sources of food,” Hampton said. “It had to be euthanized because it found human food over and over again.”
Don Sheffield, who lives near Edlun Road and has since 1977, said he didn’t see the bear in July, but he has seen a bear once. His property overlooks the Gunnison River. He let Knox and Hampton tour his property, which has a large garden. Animals have gotten into his grapevines and fruit trees, but it appeared as if the damage was done by birds, Knox said.
Electric fence will help keep skunks, raccoons and deer out of gardens, Knox said. Wrapping wire fencing around trunks of trees will help keep bucks from using the bark to rub the velvet off their antlers, she added.
Otherwise, she said, Sheffield seemed to have an understanding of how to live with wildlife.
“You are going to encounter people who are doing the right things,” Hampton said.
But Hampton said people don’t always do the right things when it comes to keeping wildlife away from their homes, and that can turn out badly for both animals and people.
Wild animals can carry diseases easily transmitted to house pets. That’s a concern. Wild animals will seek out human sources of food, which usually leads to euthanization of the animal, Hampton said.
But the DOW is not in the business of killing animals. It is in the business of managing wild game populations, he added.
“There is a need for people in Mesa County to understand that they live in wildlife habitat,” Hampton said.
The Colorado Division of Wildlife has a wealth of resources for homeowners wanting more information about what to do to better live with animals in western Colorado. Go to http://wildlife.state.co.us or stop by the DOW offices at 711 Independent Ave. for brochures and answers.
Copyright 2009, Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.
http://www.gjsentinel.com/hp/content/features/stories/2009/08/24/082309_ls_wildlife_www.html
Providing carefully researched information since 1999. propertyrights@earthlink.net Websites: http://www.propertyrightsresearch.org/ and http://propertyrightsresearch.blogspot.com/
"The kennel had high enough walls to keep the dog in, but its placement below a block ledge would have made it easy for a mountain lion to jump in, kill the dog and jump back out. ... Most predators hunt at night and are most active at dawn and dusk. People should keep that in mind when letting pets outside. ... Wild animals can carry diseases easily transmitted to house pets. That’s a concern."
(Note: Although this article is from Colorado, and the state agency is the Colorado Department of Wildlife, there is much helpful information.)
August 24, 2009
By Melinda Mawdsley, The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel melinda.mawdsley@gjsentinel.com
The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel "The Daily Sentinel is the largest paper on the Western Slope - distributing in 11 counties in western Colorado and eastern Utah."
P.O. Box 668
Grand Junction, Colorado 81502
970-242-5050
Fax: 970-241-6860
http://www.gjsentinel.com/
To submit a Letter to the Editor: letters@gjds.com (300-word limit)
Conflict between wild animals and humans may not be as big a problem in the Grand Valley as it is in neighboring, more mountainous communities, but problems still exist.
Some local confrontations draw attention, such as the June incident in which a Redlands dog was killed, presumably by a bobcat. Other issues, such as a bear rummaging through an Orchard Mesa neighborhood in July, don’t receive much publicity because they are handled quietly.
Regardless of the animal involved, or the seriousness of the confrontation, humans and wildlife have to coexist in western Colorado, said Randy Hampton, spokesman with the Colorado Division of Wildlife.
Learning how to protect personal property is important because it keeps people and animals safe, Hampton added.
On August 12, Hampton and DOW district wildlife manager Elissa Knox showed up unannounced at four properties near Grand Junction to point out the things — good or bad — property owners were doing to prevent unwanted encounters with wildlife.
During visits to the four homes, Knox gave suggestions about how to best avoid visits from skunks and raccoons or potentially fatal brushes with a bear or mountain lion.
The tour began on I Road near a drainage area commonly referred to as Hunter Wash. The DOW has received complaints about coyotes in the rural area between Grand Junction and Fruita.
Hunter Wash and other drainage basins in the area are access paths for wildlife — prey and predator — to move from the high country into the Grand Valley, Knox said. Drainage areas provide drinking water and sheltering vegetation.
Consequently, Knox and Hampton wanted to tour a property off 20 1/2 Road because it was near Hunter Wash. Matt Krueger allowed Knox on the land.
Pet food for the dog was outside in a bowl near the garage.
“If they leave it out all night, raccoons and skunks will take advantage,” Knox said.
Pet food — and pets — attract wild animals. Smaller animals such as skunks or raccoons won’t necessarily attack a dog or cat.
On the other hand, coyotes, bobcats and mountain lions — all of which live in the area — will.
Knox continued to walk around the property. A hummingbird feeder hung on wire under a patio overhang. Raccoons will climb on wires to get to bird feeders. And bears love to eat out of hummingbird feeders.
“It’s like candy for them,” Knox said.
A grill was below the hummingbird feeder. The grill was cleaned, and Krueger said the people who use the grill make sure they clean it because they know the smell attracts wildlife. But don’t forget to clean the drip pan, Knox advised.
Near the grill were live chickens. A wire fence kept the chickens inside, but it also will keep skunks, foxes and coyotes out.
“This is good fencing,” Knox said. “The mesh is small enough nothing can climb through. It’s strong with a good frame. The top is sharp, which is good.”
However, near the bottom was a hole with a heavy piece of lumber propped up against it, which would keep chickens in, but “if something is really determined to get in there, it will squeeze through,” Knox warned.
“I can walk out every night and smell a skunk,” Krueger said. “I hear the coyotes all the time over there.” He pointed toward Hunter Wash.
The property also had fruit trees, which “a family of raccoons will eat,” Knox said, and a large shed with horse feed. The feed is locked up in strong storage containers, Krueger said.
“This property is a good one (for potential wildlife encounters),” Knox said. “But it’s pretty well taken care of.”
The DOW tour moved from rural Fruita toward the Redlands, where the DOW has responded to animal calls of all sorts, Hampton said. The nearby Colorado River and Colorado National Monument are wildlife habitats.
Hampton and Knox stopped at Tony Miller’s house off South Rim Drive. Miller let Knox walk around the area, which overlooks the river.
His bird feeders were far from the house, and he typically does not feed birds in the summer. Both are good tips to follow if homeowners notice an increased wildlife presence, Knox said.
“I love wildlife, but I do everything to keep them wild,” Miller said.
He also had two fountains, which can attract thirsty animals, Knox said. Where thirsty animals such as deer roam, larger predators may follow, she added.
Knox and Hampton climbed back into the DOW Jeep and left the Redlands subdivision to tour another part of the Redlands that receives animal complaints: the Monument base.
“If you were a mountain lion and got to choose where you could live, this is the area you would choose,” Hampton said. The monument has a healthy deer population.
“Honestly, wherever you have a healthy deer population, there is the potential for a mountain lion presence,” Knox said.
Harry Hotimsky let Knox and Hampton walk around his property off Monument Road. Immediately, Hampton saw an open-top dog kennel placed below a ledge near the house.
“You don’t use that kennel, do you?” Hampton asked.
“Never,” Hotimsky answered back.
Chechu, a Labrador and Weimaraner mix, wasn’t a small dog, but it’s still prey trapped inside a kennel, Knox said.
The kennel had high enough walls to keep the dog in, but its placement below a block ledge would have made it easy for a mountain lion to jump in, kill the dog and jump back out. Mountain lions can jump 15 feet, Knox said.
Hotimsky said he hears coyotes “all the time” and frequently sees rabbits. When he first moved to the Monument area in 2001, he heard stories about homeowners losing cats or dogs.
Most predators hunt at night and are most active at dawn and dusk, Knox said. People should keep that in mind when letting pets outside, she added. Hampton heard a story years ago about how a coyote approached a home in the area and lured a dog away from a yard only to kill it with the help of other coyotes.
“It’s not only smart,” Hampton said. “It’s an adaptation. A rabbit will run from a coyote. A dog won’t.”
People who live in rural areas may be used to wildlife, and are well-versed about what they should or shouldn’t do to thwart encounters, but there are areas in the city where people might be surprised to learn wildlife and humans have made contact, and it didn’t always end well.
As recently as July 21, a bear was found rummaging through garbage off Edlun Road on Orchard Mesa near the Mesa County Fairgrounds. Because the Mesa County Fair was scheduled to start that week, the DOW had to locate the bear quickly to prevent a potential issue between the bear and 4-H animals at the fairgrounds, Hampton said.
Turns out, the bear in Orchard Mesa was the same bear found in early July inside the Hotel Colorado in Glenwood Springs. At that time, the DOW relocated the bear to the Uncompahgre Plateau.
“We pretty much put it in the middle of a berry patch,” Hampton said. “We want to give bears the opportunity to be bears.”
About one week later, the same bear, which had been tagged in Glenwood, was spotted in Gateway going through trash cans. It was never caught before it turned up in Grand Junction.
“It had become habituated to human sources of food,” Hampton said. “It had to be euthanized because it found human food over and over again.”
Don Sheffield, who lives near Edlun Road and has since 1977, said he didn’t see the bear in July, but he has seen a bear once. His property overlooks the Gunnison River. He let Knox and Hampton tour his property, which has a large garden. Animals have gotten into his grapevines and fruit trees, but it appeared as if the damage was done by birds, Knox said.
Electric fence will help keep skunks, raccoons and deer out of gardens, Knox said. Wrapping wire fencing around trunks of trees will help keep bucks from using the bark to rub the velvet off their antlers, she added.
Otherwise, she said, Sheffield seemed to have an understanding of how to live with wildlife.
“You are going to encounter people who are doing the right things,” Hampton said.
But Hampton said people don’t always do the right things when it comes to keeping wildlife away from their homes, and that can turn out badly for both animals and people.
Wild animals can carry diseases easily transmitted to house pets. That’s a concern. Wild animals will seek out human sources of food, which usually leads to euthanization of the animal, Hampton said.
But the DOW is not in the business of killing animals. It is in the business of managing wild game populations, he added.
“There is a need for people in Mesa County to understand that they live in wildlife habitat,” Hampton said.
The Colorado Division of Wildlife has a wealth of resources for homeowners wanting more information about what to do to better live with animals in western Colorado. Go to http://wildlife.state.co.us or stop by the DOW offices at 711 Independent Ave. for brochures and answers.
Copyright 2009, Grand Junction Daily Sentinel.
http://www.gjsentinel.com/hp/content/features/stories/2009/08/24/082309_ls_wildlife_www.html
Providing carefully researched information since 1999. propertyrights@earthlink.net Websites: http://www.propertyrightsresearch.org/ and http://propertyrightsresearch.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
[Rabies in Ohio: What You Should Know] Zoonotic Disease Program: Rabies
[Rabies in Ohio: What You Should Know] Zoonotic Disease Program: Rabies
"Local health departments reported they were aware of 56 people who were bitten or otherwise potentially exposed to rabid bats in Ohio during 2008. All 56 patients started rabies post-exposure treatment (PET). Eleven rabid bats also exposed 10 cats, nine dogs and a horse. Each animal was given a vaccine booster and/or quarantined. Bat rabies is sporadic throughout the state and pets frequently are the conduit to human exposures. The public must be continually reminded that even these small animals can be deadly."
(Note: Rabies is another reason pets should be supervised at all times and not be permitted to run loose. ORV -- Oral Rabies Vaccine) bait was put out in sixteen eastern Ohio counties: Ashtabula, Belmont, Carroll, Columbiana, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Harrison, Jefferson, Lake, Mahoning, Monroe, Noble, Portage, Summit, Trumbull, and Washington. TVR -- Trap-Vaccinate-Release -- is also employed.)
Last updated: February 23, 2009
People are exposed to rabies when they are bitten by an infected animal, or less commonly, when saliva from an infected animal gets into an open wound or onto a mucous membrane.
Any bite wound should be thoroughly washed with soap and water as soon as possible.
Animal bite victims should consult with their doctor and promptly report the incident to the local health department.
Rabies is almost always fatal once clinical symptoms appear. To confirm the victim’s risk of being exposed to rabies, a decision must be made to either test or quarantine the biting animal, or to treat the victim. Treatment must be initiated soon after the exposure to be effective. Ohio’s local health departments investigate more than 24,000 animal bite incidents annually. Because of health department activities and medical treatment, human rabies is rare in the United States. Ohio’s last human rabies case was in 1970.
The Ohio Department of Health Rabies Program conducts rabies prevention activities to protect Ohio residents from the spread of wildlife rabies to people, pets, and other animals. Bat, raccoon, skunk, other wild animal and domestic animal rabies cases are reviewed to determine any necessary control initiatives.
The Rabies Program works to do the following:
Assist local health departments with rabies prevention programs and coordinate rabies control activities among local, state and federal agencies.
Develop educational materials for the public.
Provide consultation for public health workers, veterinarians, the medical community, and others who work with animals, and deal with animal bites and rabies exposures.
Collect and maintain data on rabies and animal bites in Ohio.
2008 Ohio Rabies Map
http://www.odh.ohio.gov/ASSETS/6DF229DD9EFB4436866D31FFDFD5EAEB/rabmap.pdf
2008 Rabies Summary (excerpted below)
http://www.odh.ohio.gov/ASSETS/3FD4AEC0392745B382CE5943DFB0818B/rabsum.pdf (4 pages)
In 2008, 4,405 animals from Ohio were tested for rabies. Testing was conducted by three laboratories:
The Ohio Department of Health Laboratories (ODHL) tested public health specimens (e.g. suspect animals that exposed humans or pets/domestic animals).
The United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Service (USDA APHIS WS) targeted sick and dead wildlife collected for raccoon- rabies variant (RRV) surveillance in northeast Ohio.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) laboratories conducted variant typing on rabies-positive animal samples and confirmed USDA APHIS WS samples.
Sixty-four animals tested positive for rabies in 2008. Fifty-five of those animals were bats (85.9 percent), five were raccoons (7.8 percent), three were skunks (4.7 percent) and one was a coyote (1.6 percent). For comparison, 86 animals (66 bats, 11 raccoons and nine skunks) from Ohio tested positive for rabies in 2007. In Ohio, there are three rabies variants (or strains) circulating among wildlife and they include bat, skunk and raccoon rabies. The North Central skunk-rabies variant and the raccoon-rabies variant are terrestrial variants, and each tends to have a geographic focus. The third variant is bat rabies, which is sporadic and geographically disbursed. Each strain prefers a specific animal species, but any strain can infect humans and other mammals. For example, a skunk with RRV can cause rabies in a dog, cat, horse, etc.
No matter the variant, rabies is a viral disease of mammals that affects the nervous system. It is nearly 100 percent fatal and is transmitted when saliva from an infected animal gets into an open wound or on a mucous membrane. In humans, treatment is effective only if immunoglobulin and a series of five vaccine injections are administered within days after the exposure. This is the reason Ohio law requires all animal bites be reported to the local health department within 24 hours. Human disease can be prevented through prompt exposure evaluation and treatment. Because of the medical and public health infrastructure in the state, Ohio has not had a confirmed human case of rabies since 1970. Each year in the United States, an average of three people die from rabies, usually from bat-related variants. Worldwide, roughly 55,000 people die each year, most often from canine-rabies variant, which is not endemic to the United States.
Bat Rabies:
In 2008, the number of bats testing positive (55) was higher than the five-year average (47, range 30-66). The percent positive was 6 percent. Local health departments reported they were aware of 56 people who were bitten or otherwise potentially exposed to rabid bats in Ohio during 2008.
All 56 patients started rabies post-exposure treatment (PET). Eleven rabid bats also exposed 10 cats, nine dogs and a horse. Each animal was given a vaccine booster and/or quarantined. Bat rabies is sporadic throughout the state and pets frequently are the conduit to human exposures. The public must be continually reminded that even these small animals can be deadly.
Bats frequently inhabit attics and pose a rabies risk to residents if there is access into living areas. In July, the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) Zoonotic Disease Program received a call about a bat found in a rental home. The bat tested positive for rabies through ODHL and the family received PET. The tenants moved shortly after completing the PET series. New tenants moved in and subsequently reported seeing bats in sleeping areas in the morning. Because no bats were available for testing, these tenants also started and completed PET. The landlord paid all the out-of-pocket expenses for each family which amounted to several thousand dollars. “Bat-proofing” the structure would probably have been less expensive than paying for PET.
Raccoon Rabies Variant:
All rabid raccoons and skunks, plus one coyote, identified in Ohio during 2008 were positive for RRV. All were found in northeast Ohio. The percentage of raccoons testing positive in 2008 (five of 1,009 or 0.5 percent) was similar to previous years. This year, most RRV-positive animals (five raccoons and two skunks) were detected by enhanced surveillance activities (odd behavior, sick, roadkill); not because they bit or otherwise exposed a person or pet. However, one skunk and one coyote were involved in human or pet/domestic animal exposures.
http://www.odh.ohio.gov/ASSETS/3FD4AEC0392745B382CE5943DFB0818B/rabsum.pdf (4 pages)
Source (original website address / URL):
http://www.odh.ohio.gov/odhPrograms/dis/zoonoses/rabies/rab1.aspx
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