A domestic dog has been infected with rabies for the first time in Maine in nearly a decade.
The dog was reported to animal control in Kennebec County after likely encountering a rabid raccoon, said state epidemiologist Dr. Stephen Sears.
“The dog started acting fairly aggressive and actually bit the owner,” he said.
The dog became ill and died shortly thereafter, and the owner was treated for exposure to the rabies virus, Sears said. There were no records indicating the dog had been vaccinated recently, he said.
State rabies testing records show the virus was confirmed in a dog in Albion on Aug. 1.
Testing by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed the dog was infected with a strain of rabies commonly carried by raccoons, Sears said.
Rabies is spread through a bite or scratch from an infected animal or when saliva or tissue from the animal’s brain or spinal cord gets into the eyes, nose, mouth or an open wound.
The virus is more typically found in wild animals; the last time a domestic dog was infected with rabies in Maine was in 2003. So far this year, 72 animals in the state have tested positive for the virus, mostly raccoons and skunks.
State officials warned in February that Maine was recording an alarmingly high number of rabid animals, likely because the lack of significant winter snowfall enabled infected wildlife to come in greater contact with one another and with pets and livestock.
One domestic cat and one feral cat also have been found to carry the disease this year, Sears said.
“People tend to be a little less likely to vaccinate their cats, although they’re high-risk animals because they have nocturnal behaviors,” he said.
Health officials have launched a campaign to prevent the spread of rabies in honor of World Rabies Day on Sept. 28. Mainers are urged to vaccinate their pets as required by law, avoid contact with wild and unfamiliar animals, and “bat-proof” their homes by plugging or covering openings where bats can enter.
Maine hasn’t recorded a human case of rabies since 1937, though many people have been treated for potential exposure to the virus, Sears said. Treatment for rabies involves a four-dose vaccine and a shot of globulin, which provides antibodies to prevent rabies infection.
In 2011, 143 people in Maine received treatment for rabies. Most were only suspected of exposure to the virus, as authorities can’t always capture and test the animals involved, especially with rabid bats.
Symptoms can take anywhere from three weeks to a year to appear. Because onset of the disease can last several days, treatment need not immediately follow a bite or scratch from a rabid animal to be effective.
Anyone exposed to rabies is advised to wash the wound with water, contact the local animal control officer and seek medical care.
To report rabies exposure, call the Maine CDC at 800-821-5821.
Please vaccinate (and spay/neuter for that matter) your animals. There is no excuse in this day and age for a pet to contract rabies.
Tragically, it’s one of those things some people seem to refuse to do simply because it’s a good idea. Or because the gummint told them to do it and they hate the gummint. Or because their great-uncle Floyd told them once that if you rub Tiger Balm on your dog’s back he can’t get the rabies, and Floyd had 130 dogs and not one of them ever got it. Or because their dogs never go outside off-leash (and, they are evidently confident, could not possibly under any circumstances escape or encounter trespassing wildlife). Or – and this is a different kind of tragedy – they haven’t got the 20 bucks.
It’s sad all the way around.
Man alive, Dr. Sears needs a new stock photo. That one makes him look like a motivational speaker.
Looks like it was a family pic with family cut out. Or a new state line up pic. State is getting pretty artistic with all the funniness goings on.
It is inexcusably stupid not to vaccinate your pet against rabies. I repeat: inexcusably stupid.
Maybe that round of rabies shots the owner had to endure will enlighten the owner.
So the owner would rather take a series of shots than give his dog one?
Not to mention, have his beloved dog die rather than give him a shot!
Another cut by Lepage is coming back to bite him.
Catch the written diarrhea bug? Loving what you’ve done with the relevancy to this article’s topic.
Nice how they take an unjustified shot at bats here. Bats are no more or less likely to carry rabies than squirrels or mice, but no need to prevent them from getting into your house, only those nasty bats. Bats are among the most beneficial animals on the planet, and ignorant commenters like this author are contributing to their decline. I hope you like mosquitoes, Jackie.
Reference article on domestic dog rabies, many
people with cats do not get them vaccinated, especially those with
limited incomes, even though it is now required by law. This is probably also true for some dog owners. I
think a big part of the reason for this noncompliance with the law is that there are very limited ways of
obtaining the $16 annual vaccinations from area vets without having to
also pay for much more expensive wellness exams for the animal. Vets like Pine Tree Animal Hospital in Augusta, for example, require these exams before they will vaccinate for rabies. I know of only one clinic in all of Kennebec County, Pet Quarters in Waterville, that has a rabies clinic once a month free of other “strings”. The result
is that some people just don’t bother with shots at all, and let their cats run loose without them. It’s a public health issue, and vets should be responsible and at least occasionally offer these vaccination clinics for those who can’t afford annual wellness exams for their pets. Without a lower cost infrastructure, this law simply will not be complied with to the extent it should be.