BATH — There are now four wild animals that have tested positive for rabies in Bath this year, police said Wednesday. Police want the public to keep an eye out for animals acting strangely, to keep an eye on their pets and be sure their pets’ vaccinations are up to date.
On Feb. 1, Bath’s animal control officer was called to Bayshore Road in North Bath after a pair of dogs killed a fox. The fox later tested positive for rabies at the Maine Health and Environmental testing lab in Augusta.
On Wednesday, Bath Deputy Police Chief Robert Savary announced two more confirmed rabies cases. On March 29, a dead raccoon was found on Washington Street and later tested positive for rabies. Most recently, a dead raccoon was found April 3 in a yard along Middle Street. That animal also tested positive for rabies.
Also, on March 9, a dead fox was found on Spruce Street with quills in its face. Because it didn’t have contact with anyone or any pets, the animal wasn’t tested. However, police believe it was infected with the rabies virus.
Another dead fox was found on Washington Street March 24 with quills in its face and also is suspected of having had rabies.
The spate of rabies cases in Bath comes on the heels of an apparent outbreak in Brunswick last summer. Seven people were attacked by rabid foxes, leading Brunswick police to warn the public and leaving residents on edge.
Rabies is a viral disease that is often transmitted through bites and scratches, usually due to exposure to infected saliva. The disease attacks the brain and can cause erratic or aggressive behavior in the infected animal and can ultimately lead to death.
Spring revival
Experts say rabies comes in cycles and, during a public rabies forum in Brunswick last August, couldn’t say when the threat would subside.
Cases involving rabid animals tend to drop off in winter months as animals begin to hibernate, but the virus may reemerge in warmer months.
Rabies will also spread as mammals have more contact with other animals during mating season, and then as they are raising young.
State veterinarian Michele Walsh warned against feeding foxes and other wild animals in order to limit interaction between humans and possible rabid wildlife.
In 2018, nine animals in Brunswick tested positive for rabies, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. There were also three in Lisbon, two in Bath, four in Bowdoin and one in West Bath. Statewide, a total of 101 animals tested positive for rabies by the Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory and USDA APHIS Wildlife Services. The majority were raccoon (51), skunk (25), grey fox (9) and bat (12).
That was up from 67 cases of rabid animals confirmed by the Maine CDC in 2017, 76 rabies cases in 2016, 33 in 2015, 43 in 2014, 51 in 2013 and 87 in 2012 and 65 in 2011.
According to the Maine CDC data, more animals are testing positive for rabies at this point in 2019 than at this point in 2018. In 2019 there are already three rabies cases in Bath and one in Bowdoinham, but none in Brunswick or Lisbon.
In 2018, a grey fox tested positive for rabies in Lisbon Falls on March 5, but the nine animals testing positive in Brunswick occurred between June 14 and November 26. The cases in Sagadahoc County ranged from May 22 to December 3.
Walsh said that last year many people questioned why the oral rabies vaccination baits, such as those dropped from planes in northern Maine, aren’t being used in the Brunswick area.
“The reason is that it’s not effective in an urban area really,” she said.
The bait program is designed to create a barrier from preventing rabies in Maine from spreading north. It’s an expensive process in part, Walsh said, because there are huge land masses affected by this disease.
According to Tanya Espinosa, spokeswoman for the USDA, “Rabies management is wildlife management and requires a level of immunity in a population (herd immunity) to be effective. It would not be cost effective or practical to manage rabies in small isolated areas because there is rabies pressure in surrounding populations.”
Dr. Erica Parthum of the Veterinary Clinic on Maine Street in Brunswick said the best thing people can do is vaccinate their pets, including indoor cats, because animals infected with rabies can get inside homes.
The Veterinary Clinic takes walk-in appointments Tuesday through Thursday from 9-11 a.m. and 2-4 p.m. so pet owners can walk in with no appointment and have their pet vaccinated for $23. Parthum recommends bringing records so the office can provide a three-year vaccination rather than a one-year vaccination. Additionally, Midcoast Humane is offering a rabies clinic with $10 rabies vaccinations on April 27 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at its Edgecomb campus, located at 27 Atlantic Highway.
Prevention
The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention offered these tips to reduce the risk of rabies exposure:
- Make sure pets are vaccinated against rabies. By law, all dogs and cats must be vaccinated.
- Avoid contact with all wild animals and any animal that you do not know.
- Fasten trashcan lids tightly and do not leave pet food outside. Leaving food accessible brings animals like skunks and raccoons close to your home.
- Talk to a trained exterminator or contractor about “bat-proofing” your home.
- Do not handle sick or hurt wild animals yourself; call your animal control officer, Maine Inland Fisheries & Wildlife game warden, or a wildlife rehabilitator.
- Animal control officers, Maine Inland Fisheries & Wildlife game wardens, veterinarians and their assistants, and others who have a lot of contact with stray animals or wildlife should think about getting the pre-exposure rabies vaccine.
Treatment
According to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, here is what you should do if you or your pet were exposed to an animal with rabies:
- Wash the wound thoroughly with soap and water.
- Call your health care provider and they will help you decide if you need to be treated for rabies. The Maine CDC can also help assess rabies exposures and recommend control measures.
- Contact your town’s animal control officer if the attacking animal is domestic, through your local or state police.
- Contact your local game warden if attacked by a wild animal by calling state police.
- If your pet was bitten or scratched by an animal, call your veterinarian and the animal control officer or game warden.
The treatment is a combination of vaccine and immunoglobulin shots, called “post-exposure prophylaxis.” The number and type of shots needed depends on a person’s health and whether he or she has been vaccinated for rabies in the past.
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