Week after first case in 2017, Catawba County Public Health updates rabies ordinances

NEWTON ? A week after the first confirmed case of rabies in the area, Catawba County Public Health Director Doug Urland presented the Board of Commissioners with a summary and update of county guidelines for dealing with the virus.

Monday's presentation specifically focused on the 2016 Compendium Changes for Postexposure Management of dogs and cats by vaccination status ? a plan the Board of Health recently approved.

Rabies is a potentially fatal virus that attacks the nervous system in mammals, Urland said. While the disease is serious, it is preventable in household animals like dogs and cats by vaccination and is treatable if transmitted to humans.

Since 2013, there have been 18 confirmed cases of rabies in Catawba County. The number of confirmed cases, however, is significantly less than the amount of bites reported and quarantines of animals, Amy McCauley said, who is the communications director for Catawba County.

In 2016, there were 187 bite reports, 69 orders for home or veterinarian quarantines, and 170 animals quarantined by the Catawba County Animal Shelter.

Vaccination for rabies is not only a safety precaution ? it is the law. In North Carolina, the state requires all owners of dogs and cats have their pets inoculated once they reach 4 months old.

An infected animal can spread rabies to another animal or person through a bite or contact with saliva from the infected animal, Urland said.

The new regulations Urland presented updates the requirements for pets exposed to rabies.

If the pet is vaccinated and exposed to the virus, the current standard is the administration of a rabies booster vaccine within 96 hours of exposure and keep the pet under owner observation for 45 days, Urland said.

If a pet is exposed to the virus and has never been vaccinated for rabies, the owner has the option of euthanasia, or immediate veterinary care with a rabies booster followed by four-month quarantine. This is a change from the previous six-month requirement of quarantine.

Pets that are exposed and have been vaccinated in the past but are past due also have the option for immediate veterinary care and a rabies booster vaccine followed by an owner observation period, or four-month quarantine, depending on the situation.

While humans can be exposed to the virus, the amount of human confirmed cases of rabies is significantly lower than it has been in the past, McCauley said.

One of the most concerning carriers of rabies is bats; with sharp and tiny teeth, a bat could bite a person and they might not even realize they have been bit, according to CCPH.

Urland encourages people to stay vigilant, especially if they live in old buildings where bats might nest, or when they are out camping, or outside in the warmer weather at night, he said.

If a person is bitten or is suspected to have had any contact with an animal carrying the virus, CCPH immediately refers them to the emergency room for post-exposure rabies prophylaxis, Clinical Nursing Supervisor for CCPH Sarah Rhodes said.

The treatment for humans is a series of shots administered at the hospital, she said.

While rabies in humans is increasingly less common, people should still take precautions and start the treatment if there is even a chance the victim has contracted the virus.