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Local News - April 2002

Clinic offers weapon against spread of rabies

By COURTNEY MARTIN, LTN Staff Writer

April 26, 2002 - The Lincoln County Animal Control will hold a rabies clinic Saturday at East Lincoln High School.

Animal Control Officer Sgt. Keith Poovey said there are several important reasons to get pets vaccinated against rabies.

“The main importance is to control the rabies population,” he said. Having pets vaccinated will protect people from exposure.

So far this year, there have not been any cases of rabies found in Lincoln County, said Poovey. “I’d like to think we’re doing a good job with prevention.”

Lincoln County’s last reported case of rabies was in a skunk early last year.

But just because no cases have been found does not mean there are not animals in Lincoln County carrying the virus.

All the counties bordering Lincoln, with the exception of Burke, have already had confirmed cases of rabies this year.

The highest numbers are in Iredell, with 10 cases, and Mecklenburg and Cleveland counties, with five cases each.

Cases of confirmed rabies in animals have been steadily increasing in North Carolina since 1991, according to the N.C. Health and Human Services.

Rabies is a disease that almost always causes the person or animal that has it to die. An animal that has the rabies virus can pass it to another animal or person through a bite. The disease is passed on if the saliva from a rabid animal gets into an open wound or the body’s soft, damp areas: eyes, nose or mouth.

When rabies enters the body, it attacks the brain and spinal cord. Once signs of the disease appear, the infected person or animal will usually die within days. There is no cure for rabies once symptoms develop.

In North Carolina, raccoons are more likely to have rabies than any other animal. However, any warm blooded animal can have rabies, including bats.

Animals that have rabies can act normal, but will develop symptoms within about 10 days of exposure. Signs of the disease include: the animal is unusually nervous or mean, foaming at the mouth, biting at real or imaginary objects or staggering. Some animals cannot move at all.

A Health and Human Re-sources pamphlet provides gives several tips to keep safe from rabies:

· If a pet has possibly been in contact with a wild animal or in a fight, use gloves or a towel when handling the animal be-cause even saliva still on the surface could get into an open wound.

· Keep children and pets away from wild animals and animals you do not know.

· Make sure garbage can lids are shut tight and pet food is not left outside.

· Report wild or stray ani-mals to animal control.

· If bitten, the wound or ex-posed are should be vigorously scrubbed with soap and

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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