Arizona on pace for rabies record, Yuma has few cases

Arizona is expected to have a record-breaking year for the number of animals testing positive for rabies, but Yuma County has contributed very little to the expected record, state health officials say.
 
Of the 165 confirmed rabies animal cases reported in Arizona this year, only two cases were reported from Yuma County. Both involved bats.
 
The state's infected animals are known to have exposed 38 people and 119 pets to rabies, the state Department of Health Services reported Friday. The current record was set in 2005, when the lab confirmed rabies in 169 animals.
 
"We are definitely going to break the record," Craig Levy, the Department of Health Services' program manager for vector-borne diseases, said. "We do have more and more people encroaching into wildlife areas, which means more contact with wildlife."
 
Levy also said the rise has a lot to do with people being more diligent about turning over animals for testing and with neighborhoods being built closer to the wild.
 
Yuma County's low number of rabies cases is attributed to its lack of a rabies reservoir, Levy said. A rabies reservoir contains bats, skunks and foxes and are all known to have rabies populations.
 
Without a reservoir, there is very little "spillover" to other animals, such as farm animals and domestic pets, Levy said. Yuma County has bats carrying the rabies virus, though not as many skunks or foxes as other parts of the state, he said.
 
Despite the low numbers of rabies cases in Yuma, the area has infected bats and area residents should be educated, he said.
 
Statewide, bats prove to be a regular problem and have contributed 85 rabies cases to the total this year, Levy said. They can fall into a yard regardless of the location.
 
"It's an ongoing thing with bats every year," he said. "The biggest problem we have is kids playing with grounded bats. Most people exposed in Arizona this year were playing with bats.”
  
Levy urges parents and teachers to educate children not to touch or play with an animal that looks sick or is acting abnormally.
 
Many of the cases of people and pets exposed to rabies have occurred in the past few weeks.
 
A prized hunting dog from Pima County had to be euthanized recently after it was exposed to the virus and did not have prior vaccinations.
  
Owners can protect dogs and cats by making sure they receive rabies vaccines and boosters. Dogs should be kept on a leash in the wilderness to prevent contact with wild animals. People are equally susceptible to rabies as animals, and it has a 100 percent fatality rate for those who don’t seek immediate treatment.
  
Recent incidents that led to a new warning by the Arizona Department of Health Services included a hiker attacked near Prescott by a rabid fox that also bit an animal control officer. A striped skunk and a fox found near Flagstaff tested positive for the rabies virus.
 
Barbara Worgess, director of the Coconino County Health Department, said other cases this year have involved a bobcat and another skunk. The latest cases were reported by people who noticed the animals hanging around neighborhoods.
 
“Someone noticed (the skunk) was out during the day and acting weird, and the next day they found it dead,” she said.
 
Worgess said most animals in the area that are found to have rabies were exposed to a variant of the rabies virus carried by bats.
 
“The main message is to stay away from wild animals,” Levy said.


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Cronkite News Service contributed to this report.
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The Arizona Department of Health Services offers these tips for protecting yourself and pets from exposure to rabies:
• Don’t let pets roam off the leash in the woods.
• If you find a bat on the ground, don’t pick it up; call animal control.
• Keep pets up-to-date on rabies vaccinations.
• If exposed to an animal that shows symptoms of rabies, seek immediate medical attention.