Rabies confirmed in foxes, skunks, horses and cat

Denver, Co.- So far in 2010, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Laboratory and Colorado State University Diagnostic Laboratory have confirmed rabies in 99 animals. According to state health officials, 34 skunks, 54 bats, seven foxes, one domestic cat, one horse, one mule deer and one muskrat have tested positive for rabies this year.

In 2009, 103 animals tested positive for rabies in Colorado, which broke the state’s annual record of 70 cases in 2006, all of which were bats. Colorado is on track to break another record for rabies in wildlife due the spread of rabies in skunks from eastern Colorado toward the Front Range.

“This is a good time to remind people to keep their pets’ rabies vaccinations up to date and take a few simple precautions to avoid pets coming in contact with wildlife,” said Elisabeth Lawaczeck, state health veterinarian at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. “Having pets vaccinated is the simplest and most effective way to protect pets and family members from this deadly disease. I encourage pet owners to contact their veterinarian and get their pets up to date on vaccinations.”

Rabies is a virus that affects the nervous system of humans and other mammals, resulting in a fatal disease. The virus is shed in the saliva of infected animals. People and animals get rabies from the bite of a rabid animal or direct contact with saliva from such an animal. Lawaczeck said, “We have a cooperative surveillance project with local health departments, animal control agencies, the Colorado Department of Agriculture, the Colorado Division of Wildlife, and Colorado State University to track the spread of the disease. Skunks are highly efficient at transmitting rabies to other animals, much more so than bats.”

State public health and wildlife experts don’t know why skunk rabies is spreading so quickly in Colorado. Although skunks typically travel only within a half-mile radius, officials suspect that people might be trapping and relocating skunks, which is illegal according to Division of Wildlife regulations.

Signs of rabies in animals include abnormal behavior such as nocturnal animals being active in the day, wild animals approaching humans or other animals, difficulty walking or moving, and unusual animal sounds such as excessive bellowing in cows or hissing/chirping in bats. Some animals with rabies will be very aggressive (furious rabies) while others may appear ...