should states require cats be vaccinated for rabies ?

[malernee]

Specific variants remain endemic within a species population. The skunk variant circulates among skunks, dog among coyotes (and then potentially to the dog population... that's why this variant is so serious), raccoon to raccoon, bat to bat. When it gets outside the "normal" host species population, the victim is usually a dead end host... literally and figuratively. A coyote infected with the raccoon variant would not establish the raccoon variant in the local coyote population.

[malernee]

Subj: white paper reference





http://www.tdh.state.tx.us/zoonosis/vet ... TPAPER.PDF


The White Paper

Texas Department of Public Health

Zoonosis Control



There are many types of rabies viruses, each of which is called a variant. Each individual variant of rabies will perpetuate itself in nature through repeated transmissions only in the mammalian species for which it is adapted. Although “spillover” of the particular variant might occur in an alternate species (such as the gray fox rabies variant in a cow), spillover rabies usually presents as a single rabies case and does not continue to spread.

Texas is the only state in the U.S. in which rabies outbreaks due to the domestic dog/coyote variant of the virus have occurred in recent years. Throughout history, the canine variants of the rabies virus have caused millions of deaths worldwide. The canine variants are regarded as especially dangerous because they are readily transmitted amongst and between wild and domestic canines (such as coyotes and dogs) and, subsequently, to people due to their close association with pet dogs.

[malernee]

Research

Skunk and Raccoon Rabies in the Eastern United States: Temporal and Spatial Analysis
Marta A. Guerra,* Aaron T. Curns,* Charles E. Rupprecht,* Cathleen A. Hanlon,* John W. Krebs,* and James E. Childs*
*Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Since 1981, an epizootic of raccoon rabies has spread throughout the eastern United States. A concomitant increase in reported rabies cases in skunks has raised concerns that an independent maintenance cycle of rabies virus in skunks could become established, affecting current strategies of wildlife rabies control programs. Rabies surveillance data from 1981 through 2000 obtained from the health departments of 11 eastern states were used to analyze temporal and spatial characteristics of rabies epizootics in each species. Spatial analysis indicated that epizootics in raccoons and skunks moved in a similar direction from 1990 to 2000. Temporal regression analysis showed that the number of rabid raccoons predicted the number of rabid skunks through time, with a 1-month lag. In areas where the raccoon rabies virus variant is enzootic, spatio-temporal analysis does not provide evidence that this rabies virus variant is currently cycling independently among skunks.

[malernee]

C:/publication/cat licensing.doc
Cat Licensing
Another Perspective
By Ed Boks, Director
Maricopa County Animal Control Services

When I returned to Animal Control Services in 1998, one of the first things I did was
initiate a partnership with Public Health to conduct a scientific study to justify cat
licensing. Having worked in all areas of animal control for nearly 15 years I was sure cat
licensing made sense from a public health perspective, and to be candid, felt it would be a
wonderful new source of revenue as well. I also knew that if I proposed a change in state
law to require cat licensing there would be a lot of people upset with me. So I wanted all
my ducks in a row. I wanted to demonstrate scientifically the value cat licensing would
provide our citizens in protecting them from rabies.
<snip>
The first step was to identify the problem. I found that in Arizona there have been no cases
of cat rabies in the last seven years. In the states bordering Arizona the number of cat
rabies cases reported since 1993 are as follows: Utah: 1, New Mexico: 1, Colorado: 0,
Nevada: 0, California: 10, Mexico: 81.
<snip>
Interestingly, eight of the 10 states with the highest incidence of cat rabies cases also have
state mandated vaccination requirements. The remaining two, New Jersey has locally
mandated cat vaccination ordinances and Iowa has no vaccination requirements for cats. It
should be noted that the primary motivator for enacting mandatory cat vaccination laws in
most of these states was a raccoon rabies epizootic. Pennsylvania has had a mandatory
statewide cat vaccination law since 1980 (eight years prior to the raccoon epizootic) but it
has the highest incidence of confirmed cat rabies cases.
From 1955 to 1992 the number of cat rabies cases has remained relatively constant at less
than 200 per year with an increase from 1993 to the present, as noted above. The number
of dog rabies cases has in that same time period (1955-1997) gone from approximately
2700 cases in 1955 to 565 in 1962. From 1970 to 1997 the number of reported dog rabies
cases has remained relatively constant, below 200 cases.
<snip>

there is no evidence to support the hypothesis that requiring cat
vaccination prevents human rabies exposure. Since 1980 there have been 32 confirmed
cases of human rabies in the United States, and not one resulted from exposure to a rabid
domestic cat.
Our aggressive and successful dog vaccination/licensing programs have, in effect, reduced
the number of dog rabies cases to the levels that occur naturally in cats. This is true in
communities where cat vaccinations are required and in communities where they are not
<snip>
there is no empirical evidence that mandated state
domestic cat vaccination laws prevent human rabies
<snip>
If a state law required a cat vaccination program it would be difficult to enforce and
complicated by the fact that there are so many feral cats in our communities that would
never be vaccinated. It seems to me that before such a program is mandated and
implemented we should know if it would actually work. To date, no one has performed a
controlled study or a time trend analysis to study whether cat vaccine requirements work.
It may be that they do and it may be that they do not. We just don’t know.
<snip>
However, (revenue generator that it may be), I am chagrinned to admit I see no scientific
reason at this time for an Arizona State mandate requiring rabies vaccination of cats, as I
clearly do for dogs.

[guest]

no secondary transmission of rabies from mammals infected with bat-variant rabies to humans (e.g., bat bites cat, cat develops rabies, rabid cat then bites human) has been documented ( Niezgoda et al., 2002) ,




Niezgoda, M., Hanlon, C. A., and Rupprecht, C. E. 2002. Animal Rabies. Chapter 5 in Jackson, A. C., and Wunner, W. H. (Eds.). 2002. Rabies. Academic Press, New York. pp 163-218.

[so what computer system]

The problem oriented approach was first introduced to the medical fields in the 1960's by a physician, Dr. Lawrence Weed. You may hear the POMR system referred to as the Weed system.

The following is a Quote from Dr. Weed 40 years latter.

"…the present approach in which each provider brings to each patient encounter his idiosyncratic knowledge, his biases, and his limited capacity to process large numbers of variables under the time constraints of everyday practice. For example, for a common diagnostic problem such as chest pain there are over 100 causes and over 320 findings to be checked in each unique patient to determine which cause best matches the patient’s unique combination of findings. For the management of diabetes, 120 management options and 380 findings on the unique patient should be taken into account to determine which management options are appropriate for a given unique patient, all done in light of current medical knowledge. Needless to say, the unaided mind cannot reliably recall all the causes or management options that should be considered for each patient, nor can it recall all the findings in the patient needed to discriminate among those options, nor can it reliably match findings to options under the time constraints of practice. When providers function without the aid of external tools for coupling knowledge with data, they take shortcuts. In particular, they consider only the limited number of diagnostic or management options known to them, and they weigh those options based on probability information derived from large population studies. Yet, those probabilities fail to reflect relevant options and data for each patient that are relevant to determining patient-specific probabilities. In other words, the unaided mind uses probabilities in direct proportion to its ignorance of the uniqueness of the situation. This is the central failing of much of evidence-based medicine.”

[malernee]

Epidemiology of human rabies in the United States, 1980 to 1996.
Ann Intern Med 128[11]:922-30 1998 Jun 1

Noah DL ; Drenzek CL ; Smith JS ; Krebs JW ; Orciari L ; Shaddock J ; Sanderlin D ; Whitfield S ; Fekadu M ; Olson JG ; Rupprecht CE ; Childs JE
PURPOSE: To summarize the epidemiologic, diagnostic, and clinical features of the 32 laboratory-confirmed cases of human rabies diagnosed in the United States from 1980 to 1996. DATA SOURCES: Data were obtained from case reports of human rabies submitted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by state or local health authorities. STUDY SELECTION: All cases of human rabies reported in the United States from 1980 to 1996 in which infection with rabies virus was confirmed by laboratory studies. 32 cases of human rabies were reported from 20 states. Patients ranged in age from 4 to 82 years and were predominantly male (63%). Most patients (25 of 32) had no definite history of an animal bite or other event associated with rabies virus transmission. Of the 32 cases, 17 (53%) were associated with rabies virus variants found in insectivorous bats, 12 (38%) with variants found in domestic dogs outside the United States, 2 (6%) with variants found in indigenous domestic dogs, and 1 (3%) with a variant found in indigenous skunks. Among the 7 patients with a definite exposure history, 6 cases were attributable to dog bites received in foreign countries and 1 was attributable to a bat bite received in the United States.

[guest]

Yes, there are documented cases of human rabies acquired from cats.


The last one I am aware of in the U.S. was in 1975 in Minnesota. First of all, in theory, all mammals are susceptible to rabies. Since 1992, the cat has been the domestic animal most commonly reported rabid in the United States. Cats are not known to act as a maintenance host for unique rabies virus variants. However, cats are important as incidental hosts affected by spillover hosts from the dominant rabies variant in an area and can transmit rabies to humans and other domestic animals. Cats are most frequently affected by skunk and bat variants in the U.S. Some animals are better "vectors" of rabies than others, but only a few species of mammals that are vectors are also reservoirs. This has much to do with the socialbiology and demography of each species. Dogs, foxes, bats. skunks and raccoons are both vectors and reservoirs, and as such there are variants associated with these animals.


Cats are vectors, but the are not good reservoirs for rabies. They acquire the rabies variant that is common in the local area and can transmit rabies to other animals



, but rabies is not known to cycle or maintain itself within cat populations. First, I believe this can be attributed in part to the fact cats apparently shed the rabies virus in the saliva for only a short period of time before clinical signs of feline rabies are apparent. Secondly, I think other cats are wary enough of a rabid cat to stay away from them, especially when rabid cats rapidly lose some of their motor functions. In parts of the world where dog rabies variants dominate the rabies occurrence, the ratio of rabid cats: rabid dogs is 0.02:1 in Asia and 0.09:1 in Africa. However, in the United States cats are more likely to interact with bats than do dogs and thus become infected with bat variants - and bats are a rabies problem in the U.S. About 75% of human rabies cases in the US the past 15 years have been from bat variants.

Raccoon rabies is the most common type of terrestrial animal rabies in the US, but the first case of humans rabies caused by a raccoon variant was not reported until last year, 2003. In the past few years, cattle have been the second most common domestic animal affected with rabies, and it is usually the skunk or raccoon variants.

Cattle and sheep are neither considered effective vectors nor reservoirs of rabies. Human rabies attributed to exposure to rabid cows is rare, but it has been documented in Europe. Rabies has been sporadic in sheep, but a few cases of ovine rabies have been associated with petting-zoos in the U.S.. The human exposure to rabid cows has often resulted from bare-handed exposure to a person, sometimes a veterinarian, trying to remove a suspected object from the mouth or throat of a "choking" cow - which is one of the clinical signs of rabies. Although cattle and sheep are not equipped with the teeth of a biting animal, furious rabies has been reported in 70% of the rabid cows and 80% of the rabid sheep. Since the rabies virus can be present in the saliva of a rabid animal, it is possible for rabies to be transmitted to humans through bite simulated wounds (cuts and abrasions). I can find no confirmed cases of human rabies caused by exposure to a rabid sheep, but the rabies virus can occur in ovine saliva and human exposure to rabies virus is certainly possible from rabid sheep. Especially when children are involved in potential rabies exposures, you want to error on the side of caution and get post exposure treatment to prevent the 100% fatal human rabies.

[guest]

Dr Klingborg, Chairman of the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Biologic and Therapeutic Agents has introduced a proposal in California to exempt cats from the rabies vaccination ordinance. This proposal is based on the fact that there is no feline rabies variant in the US, and no evidence that any human has ever contracted rabies from a cat in the US.
Based on the compartmentalization of rabies (ref, Doers, A Natural History of Rabies ) a skunk rabies variant , bat rabies variant or fox rabies variant of rabies virus can cause rabies in a cat. However since the virus is in the wrong host now, the cat is a dead end host. The virus will not replicate in sufficient quantities to be transmissible by body fluids.
Of the last 27 people who contracted rabies in the US, 22 got bat rabies from a bat, 1 got skunk rabies from a skunk, and two people got the Texas coyote/canine variant form a dog and a coyote. No one has gotten rabies from a cat. No one has gotten rabies from a vector other than the species for which that species specific variant is adapted.

[guest]

INFECTIONS TRANSMITTED BY BITES AND SCRATCHES I: RABIES and II: BACTERIAL INFECTIONS

LEONARD C. MARCUS, V.M.D., M.D.
Tufts Animal Expo Conference Proceedings
September 1, 2001




LEONARD C. MARCUS, V.M.D., M.D.

INFECTIONS TRANSMITTED BY BITES AND SCRATCHES I: RABIES and II: BACTERIAL INFECTIONS

INFECTIOUS DISEASES

Leonard C. Marcus, V.M.D., M.D.

Infectious Disease Track

Keywords: rabies, bacterial, cat, cog skunk fox, flea, raccon, ferret
<snip>


Although the five strains of rabies virus affecting terrestrial animals in the United States have a strong tendency to be host specific, they all have the potential of infecting dogs, cats, other domestic animals, and humans.

Cats are more commonly found rabid in the U.S. than are dogs, so it is especially important that they be immunized. Feline rabies is always caused by a viral strain maintained in non-feline hosts. There are no uniquely feline-adapted and transmitted strains of rabies anywhere in the world.

Rabies is rare in domestic dogs in the United States, but common in many developing countries. Many of the human cases of rabies in the United States over the last 30 years were acquired overseas as a result of a dog bite. Most human cases of rabies in the U.S. over the last 20 years had no known bite exposure and most of these were caused by bat strains of virus, although most of these people had no known bat exposure.



Some cases of rabies in man and animals can have a prolonged incubation period, sometimes greater than one year, although this is rare. Very rarely, some animals may recover from rabies. There is serologic evidence that this occurs in wildlife, such as raccoons, and it has been observed in dogs with some strains of rabies in Africa.


An oral vaccine with a rabies glycoprotein antigen incorporated in vaccinia virus (VRG) is useful for control of epizootics of rabies in wildlife. Its use is controlled by public health and fish and wildlife departments. It has been used successfully to keep raccoon rabies out of Cape Cod. Vaccine incorporated in fish meal flavored bait is distributed on the ground around Cape Cod Canal. Raccoons (and other animals) eating the baited vaccine are immunized against rabies. (It is more effective in raccoons than in skunks.)

[malernee]

The White Paper

Texas Department of Public Health

Zoonosis Control



There are many types of rabies viruses, each of which is called a variant. Each individual variant of rabies will perpetuate itself in nature through repeated transmissions only in the mammalian species for which it is adapted. Although “spillover” of the particular variant might occur in an alternate species (such as the gray fox rabies variant in a cow), spillover rabies usually presents as a single rabies case
******
Case # YEAR AGE SEX RACE LOCATION EXPOSURE ANIMAL RV ECOTYPE INCUBATION COMMENTS
189 2004 41 M Florida Haiti Dog Haiti dog/mongoose 8 months Bitten by dog in Haiti in June 2003.
188 2003 66 M California California Bat SH Bat 4+ weeks Bitten by bat while in bed.
187 2003 25 M Virginia Unk Unk Raccoon No known animal exposure
186 2002 20 M Iowa Iowa Unk SH bat No known bat exposure
185 2002 13 M Tennessee Tennessee bat SH bat* 11 weeks Pt picked up sick bat and brought into home…released after 3 hours
184 2001 72 M California Philippines dog Philippine dog 8 months Pt traveled to PI between 3/11/00 and 5/13/01
183 2000 69 M Wisconsin Wisconsin Bat SH bat*
182 2000 47 M Minnesota Minnesota bat SH bat* 7 weeks bitten by a bat between Aug 19 and 26. Onset on 14 Oct
181 2000 26 M Georgia Georgia bat T.b. Boarding house had colony of bats
180 2000 M New York Africa dog African dog Pt was visiting U.S from xxxxxxx. Arrived 09/22/00, hospitalized 09/30/00.
179 2000 49 M California California bat TBM** 6 weeks
178 1998 29 M AA Virginia Virginia bat SH bat* no known bite, patient inmate in virginia correctional facility, 39+ other inmates prophylaxed
177 1997 32 M New Jersey New Jersey bat SH bat* no known bite; bats in house; handled 2 bats 3 mons previously
176 1997 71 M Texas Texas bat SH bat* 2 months awoke with bat on shoulder; bat not tested; no PEX
175 1997 65 M Montana Montana bat SH bat* 4 months wife reports bat in bedroom; no known exposure
174 1997 64 M Washington Big brown bat*** no history of bat exposure
173 1996 49 M Montana SH bat* wife reports bats in home; no known exposure
172 1996 42 F Kentucky SH bat*
171 1996 32 F New Hampshire Nepal dog Asia dog 2 mons bitten while in Nepal; did not receive PEX
170 1996 26 M Florida Mexico Domestic Dog/Coyote bitten by pup in Chiapas Oct '95? Or bitten left hand Jan'95?
169 1995 74 M California SH bat* rancher; no hx of bite
168 1995 28 M Hisp California California bat T.b. no hx of bite, bat landed on chest, worked in shed with bats; traveled to Mexico
167 1995 13 F Cau Connecticut Connecticut bat SH bat* 1 month no hx of bite, bat in house; died in NY
166 1995 4 F Washington Washington bat small myotis bats 1 month bat in bedroom; no bite noted
165 1994 51 M Haitian Florida Haiti Haiti dog/mongoose no bite wound
164 1994 14 M Hisp Texas Domestic Dog/Coyote
163 1994 24 F Alabama Alabama bat Tbm** 2 mon. post mortum-formalin tissues, job=remove bats from bldg
162 1994 42 F Tennessee SH bat*
161 1994 41 M W.Virginia W. Virginia bat SH bat* 4 mons? possible red bat exposure 4 months previously
160 1994 44 M California SH bat* no exposure
159 1993 69 M Hisp California Mexico dog Domestic Dog/Coyote 6 mons? bit on neck
158 1993 82 M Cau Texas Tx or AR ? SH bat* no exposure
157 1993 11 F Cau New York New York SH bat* no exposure
156 1992 11 M Ind California India dog Ind/Pak dog 2-4 mons Bit on finger, no tx
155 1991 27 F Georgia GA or TN ? SH bat*
154 1991 29 M AA Arkansas Arkansas bat SH bat* 3-4 wks ? Bat not tested
153 1991 55 F Hisp Texas Mex dog virus in saliva
152 1990 22 M Hisp Texas Texas bat Tbm** 47 days bit on hand
151 1989 18 M Hisp Oregan Mexico Domestic Dog/Coyote > 1 yr
150 1987 13 M Phil California Philippines SE A dog 6+years
149 1985 19 M His Texas Mexico ? Domestic Dog/Coyote histopath dx
148 1984 12 F Lao Texas SE Asia SE A dog 7 years
147 1984 72 F Hisp California Guatemala Domestic Dog/Coyote 3 mons bite on ankle
146 1984 12 M Pennsylvania small myotis bats bite on finger
145 1983 30 M Massachusetts Nigeria dog Nigeria dog 12 wks
144 1983 5 F Michigan Michigan bat SH bat* 5 months contact only; no bite
143 1981 40 M Arizona Mexico dog Domestic Dog/Coyote 60 days bit hand; home-vacc dog
142 1981 27 M Cau Oklahoma Texas ? S.Central skunk Corsicana, TX assoc.
RABIES IN HUMANS IN USA 1950 - PRESENT
141 1979 7 F Hisp Texas Mexico dog Domestic Dog/Coyote 24 days bite on left leg
140 1979 8 M Hisp Texas Mexico dog Domestic Dog/Coyote 19 days
139 1979 18 M Washington
138 1979 37 M Hisp California Mexico dog Domestic Dog/Coyote 165 days bit on hand
137 1979 45 M Kentucky SH bat*
136 1979 24 M Oklahoma SH bat* spelunker-last in cave 1976
135 1979 50 M Pennsylvania
134 1978 25 M Hisp Texas Mexico
133 1978 37 F Idaho SH bat* 30 days corneal transplant recipient
132 1978 39 M Oregon corneal transplant donor
131 1978 50 M W.Virginia acquired outside US
130 1977 32 M New York laboratory aerosol 2wks survived, with sequellae
129 1976 17 M Texas Mexico dog Domestic Dog/Coyote 4-5 wks Monclova, Mexico; bite on wrist
128 1976 55 F Maryland Maryland bat E. fuscus SH bat* 25 days bit on finger, TX - wash wound & PEX
127 1975 60 M Minnesota Minnesota cat skunk 53 days Tx=PEX; bite on finger
126 1975 16 F Hisp California Mexico dog Domestic Dog/Coyote ~ 12 mons no known bit
125 1973 26 M Cau Kentucky Kentucky bat SH bat* 22 days bit on ear
124 1972 56 M Texas laboratory 12 days Aerosol expos-vacc production
123 1972 70 M California Phil'nes dog SE A dog 30 days bit on both hands
122 1971 64 M New Jersey New Jersey bat 59 days Bite,lip; Tx - PEX
121 1971 6 M California Mexico dog 71 days bit on face
120 1970 4 M S.Dakota S.Dakota skunk 32 days bit on arm
119 1970 11 M Cau Arizona Arizona skunk 22 days bit on hands
118 1970 6 M Ohio Ohio bat 20 days bit on thumb; survived
117 1969 2 M California San Diego bobcat 17 days bit on head, legs; Tx=PEX
116 1968 13 M Kansas Kansas dog ?
115 1967 58 F New York Africa dog 46 days acquired outside US; Tx=PEX
114 1967 9 M Oregon Egypt dog 60 days acquired outside US
113 1966 10 M S.Dakota skunk 24 days bit on hands, head
112 1965 60 M W.Virginia W.Virginia dog 701 days Tx=PEX
111 1964 10 M Minnesota skunk 19 days bit on hands; Tx=PEX
110 1963 52 F Alabama Alabama dog
109 1962 4 M Hisp Texas dog ? 5-6 wks ? unk
108 1962 11 M Idaho Idaho bat 41 days
107 1961 53 F Kentucky Kentucky fox 52 days bit on leg
106 1961 76 M California California dog 31 days bit on wrist
105 1961 74 M Kentucky Kentucky fox 39 days bit on thumb
104 1960 9 M Georgia Georgia dog 56 days
103 1960 19 F Ohio Guatemala cat 50 days
102 1959 54 M Cau California Frio Cave bat 30 days ? probably aerosol
101 1959 44 M Wisconsin Wisconsin bat 22 days bit on ear
100 1959 4 M Indiana Indiana dog ? 25 days? dog lived
99 1959 10 M Georgia Georgia dog 40 days
98 1959 30 F Alabama Alabama dog 86 days Tx=PEX
97 1959 23 M Missouri
96 1959 65 M S.Carolina dog 21 days
95 1958 2 M S.Dakota skunk 16 days
94 1958 53 F California California bat 57 days bit by moribund bat; Tx=PEX
93 1958 4 F Ohio dog 36 days
92 1958 10 M Ohio
91 1958 60 F S.Carolina fox 22 days
90 1958 55 M Georgia dog 14 days
89 1957 Adult M Texas dog 3-4 mons? military dependent, personal pet
88 1957 9 M Tennessee Arkansas dog 3 mons
87 1957 1 F Indiana Indiana unk 21 days bit on hand at night
86 1957 no info
85 1957 no info
84 1956 63 M Cau Texas Texas dog 48 days dog implicated by victim and ACO survived
83 1956 8 F Cau Texas Dallas dog 4 mons vaccinated family pet
82 1956 3 M Cau Texas Dallas dog 16 days unvacc family pet; Tx=PEX
81 1956 12 M AA Texas Dallas dog ? 3 weeks bit on lip; poor history
80 1956 41 M Cau Texas Frio Cave aerosol bat caves; G. Menzies
79 1956 78 F Arkansas cat 7 wks
78 1956 70 F Indiana Indiana dog 38 days bit by stray pup
77 1956 7 F Cau New Mexico New Mexico dog 2 mons rabid 3 1/2 mon old pup
76 1956 26 F Alabama dog 9 months Tx=7doses PEX
75 1955 Texas
74 1955 49 M Texas dog?
73 1955 11 M Wisconsin
72 1955 33 M Ohio skunk 38 days bit on finger
71 1955 70 M N.Carolina dog? 17 days
70 1955 12 M Tennessee dog 49 days bit left calf
69 1954 9 Texas Dallas 2 mons face, hand bite
68 1954 30 M Texas Harris
67 1954 9 Texas Houston
66 1954 45 M Texas Edinburg skunk 8 mons bit on hand, leg
65 1954 58 F California skunk 40 days bit on hand
64 1954 N.Carolina dog 5 wks
63 1954 74 M W.Viginia W.Virginia dog 2 mons
62 1954 3 M Georgia
61 1954 2 M Illinois dog
60 1954 8 M W.Virginia dog 1 mon face bite; Tx=PEX
59 1954 Alabama 18 days
58 1954 3 M Texas Ft Worth dog 3 weeks face bite
57 1954 3 F Texas dog 2 mons bite, thigh
56 1953 37 M Texas dog 2 mons bite, finger
55 1953 34 M AA Virginia Virginia veterinary helper
54 1953 11 F Alabama Alabama dog 120 days bite, hand
53 1953 2 F New York New York dog 1 mon face bite; Tx-PEX
52 1953 77 M Arkansas Arkansas dog 54 days
51 1953 59 F Louisiana dog 1 mon Tx=PEX
50 1953 11 M Georgia Georgia dog 3 wks minor bite, hand
49 1953 32 M Mississippi Mississippi dog 2 months minor bite on hand
48 1953 2 M S.Carolina dog 21 days severe face bite
47 1953 17 M Kentucky Kentucky dog 2.4 mon
46 1953 5 M Kentucky dog 3 wks
45 1953 41 F Tennessee fox 24 days multiple legs, hands, arms; Tx=PEX
44 1953 48 F Misissippi
43 1952 9 M Texas dog 4 mons
42 1952 11 F Texas
41 1952 9 M Texas 2 mons bite
40 1952 26 M Texas dog 1 mon bite, lip
39 1952 17 F Texas dog 9 mons bite, hand
38 1952 43 F Texas dog 2 mons bite, foot
37 1952 11 M Oklahoma California skunk 3 mons bit on thumb
36 1952 44 F Arkansas Arkansas dog 6 wks under thumbnail
35 1952 9 M Arkansas Arkansas dog 2 mons bite, hand
34 1952 2 M Louisiana dog 13 days bite ear; Tx=PEX
33 1952 32 F Pennsylvania fox 3 wks finger bite; Tx=PEX
32 1952 58 M Pennsylvania fox 46 days bite, leg
31 1952 57 M Illinois
30 1952 8 M Missouri dog 3 wks lip lesion, kiss
29 1952 39 F Kentucky Kentucky dog 3 mons bite, hand
28 1952 72 M Tennessee Tennessee dog 6 wks bite, face,hands
27 1952 28 M Tennessee Tennessee dog 3 wks bite
26 1952 7 M Mississippi Mississippi dog 4 wks bite, lip
25 1952 43 F Oklahoma Oklahoma dog lick thumb
24 1952 5 M Kentucky W.Virginia dog 5 mons bite, arm
23 1951 4 M Texas
22 1951 29 M Texas
21 1951 41 F Cau Texas Texas bat 16 days 1st reported bat case
20 1951 6 M Arkansas dog 3 mons bite
19 1951 15 M New York New York dog 24 days
18 1951 25 M Ohio
17 1951 18 F Indiana dog 9 days bite, finger
16 1951 6 M Iowa Des Moines dog ? Died on 12th day of ill
15 1951 65 M Missouri dog 39 days
14 1951 4 M Tenn-Miss
13 1951 9 F Alabama dog 14 days severe bite-face; Tx=PEX
12 1951 11 M Alabama Alabama dog 21 days
11 1950 20 M Arkansas dog 2 mons bite, lip
10 1950 30 M Louisiana
9 1950 1 M Arizona dog
8 1950 36 M Missouri dog 22 days bite, hand, leg; Tx=PEX
7 1950 7 M Texas dog 1 mon bite, arm
6 1950 3 M W.Virginia dog 15 days severe face bite; Tx=PEX
5 1950 6 M New York Cuba dog 43 days bite, ankle
4 1950 39 M Indiana Indiana dog
3 1950 8 M Indiana dog
2 1950 10 M Indiana dog
1 1950 37 M Indiana dog
During the 10-year period 1946-1955, there were 22 deaths of Tennessee residents from rabies (17 deaths
the first half of the period and 5 deaths during the last 5 years). - from Annual Report of Rabies in Tennesee
see 1990.
blank space indicates data is unavailable
*Lasionycteris noctivagans (silver-haired bat)
** Tadarida braziliensis mexicana (Mexican freetailed bat)
** Tadarida braziliensis mexicana (Mexican freetailed bat)
*** PCR similar to but not identical
Compiled by
Zoonosis Control Division
Texas Department of Health
1100 W. 49th Street
Austin, TX 78756
updated 6/16/2004 - jschuermann

[malernee]

The following is an extract from a previous ProMED-mail post (Rabies, human
- USA: MMWR reports 20001218.2215).

"In the United States since 1990, 24 (74 percent) of the 32 cases since
1990 have been attributed to bat-associated variants of rabies virus,
although a history of a bite was established in only 2 cases. Contact with
bats occurred in approximately half of the other cases. These cases
represent various bat-contact histories: a bat bite, direct contact with
bats with multiple opportunities to be bitten, and possible direct contact
with a bat. Canine rabies is prevalent in Africa, Asia, and Latin
America. Worldwide estimates of human rabies deaths exceed 50 000 cases
each year, and >95 percent of reported cases occur in regions where canine
rabies is endemic.

Although rabies is usually transmitted by a bite, persons may minimize the
medical implications of a bat bite. Unlike bites from larger animals, the
trauma of a bat bite is unlikely to warrant seeking medical care. Unless
the potential for rabies exposure is known to the patient, rabies
post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) will not be received. Although bat rabies
virus variants can be transmitted secondarily from terrestrial mammals, the
lack of other animal-bite histories and the rarity of bat rabies virus
variants found in terrestrial mammals suggest that this means of
transmission is rare.

[guest]

Q: What happens if a neighborhood dog or cat bites me?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A: You should seek medical evaluation for any animal bite. However, rabies is uncommon in dogs, cats, and ferrets in the United States. Very few bites by these animals carry a risk of rabies. If the cat (or dog or ferret) appeared healthy at the time you were bitten, it can be confined by its owner for 10 days and observed. No anti-rabies prophylaxis is needed. No person in the United States has ever contracted rabies from a dog, cat or ferret held in quarantine for 10 days.

If a dog, cat, or ferret appeared ill at the time it bit you or becomes ill during the 10 day quarantine, it should be evaluated by a veterinarian for signs of rabies and you should seek medical advice about the need for anti-rabies prophylaxis.

The quarantine period is a precaution against the remote possibility that an animal may appear healthy, but actually be sick with rabies. To understand this statement, you have to understand a few things about the pathogenesis of rabies (the way the rabies virus affects the animal it infects). From numerous studies conducted on rabid dogs, cats, and ferrets, we know that rabies virus inoculated into a muscle travels from the site of the inoculation to the brain by moving within nerves. The animal does not appear ill during this time, which is called the incubation period and which may last for weeks to months. A bite by the animal during the incubation period does not carry a risk of rabies because the virus is not in saliva. Only late in the disease, after the virus has reached the brain and multiplied there to cause an encephalitis (or inflammation of the brain), does the virus move from the brain to the salivary glands and saliva. Also at this time, after the virus has multiplied in the brain, almost all animals begin to show the first signs of rabies. Most of these signs are obvious to even an untrained observer, but within a short period of time, usually within 3 to 5 days, the virus has caused enough damage to the brain that the animal begins to show unmistakable signs of rabies. As an added precaution, the quarantine period is lengthened to 10 days.

For more information on recommendations about biting incidences, quarantine, and postexposure prophylaxis (PEP), see: Compendium of Animal Rabies Control, 2000 and Rabies Prevention - United States, 1999 Recommendations of the Immunization Practices Advisory Committee (ACIP).