CAMDEN — According to reporting from the Arkansas Department of Health there has been one verified case of rabies in Ouachita County, with the animal in question being a bat. Nearby Nevada and Clark counties have both had two cases of infected skunks a piece.
The Arkansas Department of Health site states, ” Arkansas rabies law requires that all dogs and cats must be vaccinated against rabies by four months of age by a licensed veterinarian. One shot is not enough; rabies vaccinations must be kept current so talk with your veterinarian about when your pet needs its rabies booster shots.
“If you find a bat in your home, isolate it to one room, leave the room and close the doors. Call either an animal control officer or a nuisance wildlife control company to capture the bat for testing. Most human rabies cases in the United States are due to unrecognized or unreported exposures to bats. Most bats do not carry rabies; only about 2-3 percent of bats are infected. But we cannot tell if wildlife are infected by looking at them and a laboratory test is needed.
“The Arkansas State Public Health Laboratory tests animals for rabies. They test wildlife that has bitten or exposed a person or domestic animal. They also test pets that have bitten or exposed a person, or get sick with signs of rabies or die during a 10-day confinement after biting a person. The laboratory will also test agricultural animals that show signs of brain disease or have potentially exposed a person. The laboratory discourages testing small rodents such as mice, rats, hamsters, etc., as they have never been known to transmit rabies to people and are not considered a risk for rabies exposure.”
If you come across an animal you suspect is rabit Ouchita County Ag Extension Agent Kerri Weatherford suggests, “Stay away from them, call animal control. Some things to think about, if you see a racoon or any kind of nocturnal animal, if you see them in the middle of the day. That is a sign to say away. That could be any kind of illness.”
A pamphlet provided by University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Research and Extension states, “Wash any bite wounds immediately. One of the best ways to decrease the chance for infection is to wash the wound thoroughly with soap and water. Immediately consult with your doctor and state (or county) public health department who will help the person decide if rabies preventive shots (postexposure prophylaxis or PEP) are needed. The rabies preventive shots are no longer painful injections into the stomach area, but instead are four shots given in the upper arm just like any other vaccine. Another drug is given only once, and it usually is injected around the bite wound if that is possible.”
• More than 60,000 people die of rabies every year, mostly in Asia and Africa, and many are children under 15 years of age.
• Rabies is adapted to live and multiply best in certain kinds of mammals, each with a specific strain or variant of rabies. The strains of rabies in the United States are bat, skunk, raccoon, fox and coyote.
• Dogs are the source of the vast majority of human rabies deaths in the world, but the U.S. no longer has the dog strain of rabies.
• In the U.S., humans who die of rabies almost always have been exposed to a rabid bat and either didn’t realize it, or more likely, ignored the bite.
The Center For Disease Control site states, “If you’ve been in contact with any wildlife or unfamiliar animals, particularly if you’ve been bitten or scratched, you should talk with a healthcare or public health professional to determine your risk for rabies or other illnesses. (It’s important to know that, unlike most other animals that carry rabies, many types of bats have very small teeth which may leave marks that disappear quickly. If you are unsure, seek medical advice to be safe.)”