The new guidelines for dealing with rabies cases, published on March 1, include substantial changes such as changes to the management of dogs and cats exposed to rabies that are either unvaccinated or overdue for booster vaccination, and reduction of the recommended quarantine period.
In addition dogs, cats, and ferrets without documentation of at least one rabies vaccination can possibly be tested for adequate antibody response to a booster vaccination. This must be approved by public health officials before the booster vaccination is administered at the owner’s expense.
In the new KDHE protocol guidelines include:
• Dogs, cats, and ferrets that have appropriate documentation of current rabies vaccination with a USDA-licensed vaccine approved for that species should immediately receive veterinary medical care for assessment, wound cleansing, and booster vaccination. The animal should be kept under the owner’s control and observed for 45 days.
• Dogs, cats, and ferrets that have never been vaccinated against rabies should be euthanized immediately since there are no known cures. If the owner is unwilling to have the animal euthanized, the animal should be placed in strict quarantine for four months (for dogs and cats) or six months (for ferrets).
A rabies vaccine should be administered at the time of entry into quarantine to bring the animal up to current rabies vaccination status.
• Dogs and cats that are just behind in their rabies boosters but with documented past vaccinations will receive the same treatment as those with current shots. Those behind without documentation will be judged on a case-by-case basis by authorities before the booster is administered at the owner’s expense.
In the new KDHE protocol guidelines include:
• Dogs, cats, and ferrets that have appropriate documentation of current rabies vaccination with a USDA-licensed vaccine approved for that species should immediately receive veterinary medical care for assessment, wound cleansing, and booster vaccination. The animal should be kept under the owner’s control and observed for 45 days.
• Dogs, cats, and ferrets that have never been vaccinated against rabies should be euthanized immediately since there are no known cures. If the owner is unwilling to have the animal euthanized, the animal should be placed in strict quarantine for four months (for dogs and cats) or six months (for ferrets).
A rabies vaccine should be administered at the time of entry into quarantine to bring the animal up to current rabies vaccination status.
• Dogs and cats that are just behind in their rabies boosters but with documented past vaccinations will receive the same treatment as those with current shots. Those behind without documentation will be judged on a case-by-case basis by authorities.
• There are similar guidelines for livestock.
Barton County is seeing an upswing in rabies-related dog bite investigations. This concerns county Health Director Shelly Schneider who said her office is spending about 20 hours a week on these cases.
So, in response to this and new state guidelines for rabies investigations, she worked with Kansas Department of Health and Environment state veterinarian to educate area veterinarians, law enforcement officers, animal control officials and healthcare providers. There is a special meeting for these professionals at 1 p.m. and again at 6 p.m. today at the Front Door, 1615 10th in Great Bend.
Invited are residents of Barton, Rice, Pawnee and Stafford counties to discuss the problem and recent changes in the rabies treatment protocol.
“There were some new guidelines on how to investigate rabies,” Schneider said. “There seemed to be some confusion. This is a big deal.”
Under the new rules, it can cost a pet owner over $5,000. This includes transfer and impound fees, the sacrificing of the biting animal, testing, and doctor’s and hospital bills for the victim.
This compares to between $40-90 for dogs that have current vaccinations.
Add this to the expenses for law enforcement and health officials, “and it’s just insane the amount of time and money it takes,” Schneider said. “People don’t understand that (having a pet) is like having a child.”
A matter of public health
“We have dealt with a number of cases and situations,” said Great Bend vet Nels Lindberg. Many of them have dealt with animals in the country that get bitten by a wild animal like a skunk or raccoon.
The other issues have been situations in which an unvaccinated animal or one not-current on rabies vaccinations bites a human. “Those are the bulk of the cases,” he said.
“What the public needs to understand, is this a viral disease with no cure,” he said. “If contracted, you die.”
The other aspect the public needs to understand is that this isn’t about them and their animal, this is about populations medicine, keeping rabies to a minimum in the whole population, to help prevent the disease, Lindberg said. “ And where we have a disease that is endemic, we must do all we can to prevent it from growing more prevalent, and we affecting the human population.”
And this is done through vaccination. “And if we loosen or don’t follow regulation, communicable diseases spread more prevalent,” he said.
“We don’t want any animal to get it, ‘especially our dog,’ but this is a bigger-picture disease,” he said.
Protocol changes
The National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians authored the Compendium of Animal Rabies Prevention and Control. This details recommendations for animal rabies prevention and control programs throughout the United States.
The KDHE used the recommendations to develop its regulations.
The 2016 Compendium, published on March 1, included substantial changes, including: changes to the management of dogs and cats exposed to rabies that are either unvaccinated or overdue for booster vaccination, and reduction of the recommended quarantine period. In addition dogs, cats, and ferrets without documentation of at least one rabies vaccination can possibly be tested and be required to get a booster at the owners expense.
“Rabies is a fatal viral disease passed from animals to people and a serious public health problem,” said D. Charles Hunt, state epidemiologist with KDHE.
The rabies virus is usually transmitted from animal to animal, or animal to people, through bites. The incubation period is highly variable, but is usually three-12 weeks.
Animal control programs that emphasize vaccination of dogs and cats, removal of stray animals, animal population control and enforcement of licensure are essential to reduce the risk of rabies exposures to humans, he said. These programs have reduced cases of rabies among dogs in the United States from 6,949 cases in 1947 to 89 cases in 2013.
The last human death from rabies in Kansas was in 1968.
