Rabies (also known as Hydrophobia)
Rabies Facts
- Rabies CANNOT be diagnosed visually. Only a laboratory can determine if an animal is rabid.
- House cats are a significant threat for rabies.
- Opossums have been known to contract rabies, though it is
extremely rare.
- Rabies attacks the nervous system.
- Rabies vaccination is not as painful as it used to be but it still hurts the wallet.
- Avoid damaging the brains of animals that are in need of rabies testing.
This means no tennis racquets when dealing with bats.
INFORMATIONAL RESOURCES
International
Rabies--Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Rabies--World Health Organization
United States
CDC Rabies Vaccination Guidelines (1999)
Rabies Compendium of Animal Control--AVMA
Rabies Information Home Page--Centers for Disease Control
Rabies Management--USDA Wildlife Services
Site includes reports and images on various rabies
control programs by the USDA-Wildlife Services program.
Wildlife Rabies Increasing?--Originally Published in Emerging Infectious
Diseases, Oct-Dec, '95 HTML
State
Rabies--Connecticut
Rabies--Kansas State Univ.
Rabies Testing Lab
Rabies--Penn State University
Rabies--University of Maine
Rabies--South Dakota State Univ.
Mar 12, 2007. Wildlife Services seeks to control Rabies. Pittsburgh Tribune
Review.
Nov. 3, 2006. 10
yr old rabies victim dies. IndyChannel.com
Sept 14, 2006.
Rabies increasing in Maine. Bangor Daily News.
May 16, 2006. "Carbon raccoon case reveals rabies risk.
Woman is getting shots for scratch. Advice: Avoid wild animals and vaccinate pets."
By Chris Parker. The Morning Call, PA.