WCG Rabies

Fears about rabies are common and frequently overblown. Here's what to tell callers with concerns.

Contents

• Background
• General Concerns
  • If I see a raccoon or skunk out by day, is he rabid?
  • Which animals carry rabies?
  • How will I be able to tell if an animal has rabies? What signs do I look for?
  • Can I get rabies from feces or blood?
  • Can I get rabies by sitting on grass that a rabid animal drooled on?
  • Don't many people die every year of rabies in the U.S.?
  • What should I tell callers who have been bitten by a potentially rabid animal or handled their own animal who was in a fight?
• Species-specific Questions
  • Don't a lot of bats carry rabies?
  • Isn't a fox seen by day rabid?
  • I see a baby raccoon outside during the day - is it rabid?
  • There's a baby skunk running around by day - is the skunk rabid?
  • There's an opossum hissing and drooling at me - is the opossum rabid?
  • I see a woodchuck/groundhog circling and falling over - is he rabid?

Background

People often panic about rabies due to misleading media and folklore. They mistakenly think rabies is an airborne virus or that any raccoon seen during the day is a threat to their family's health and safety. Given all the media attention, it's surprising to find out that on average only two to three people contract rabies in the United States each year. Human fatalities due to lightning strikes, jellyfish, and bad hamburgers far exceed the number of human deaths caused by rabies.

Of course, this doesn't mean we shouldn't be concerned about rabies. Instead, it means we should arm the public with knowledge and help callers take sensible precautions when it comes to preventing exposure to rabid wildlife. People can prevent the contraction of rabies by vaccinating their companion animals, not approaching or feeding wildlife, and getting prompt treatment from appropriate medical personnel after direct contact with a potentially rabid animal. (For more general information about rabies, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at cdc.gov.)

General Concerns

If I see a raccoon or skunk out by day, is he rabid?

No, not if the animal is acting normally otherwise. There are many reasons you may see a typically nocturnal animal (such as a raccoon or skunk) out during the day. They could be displaced from their den, taking advantage of freshly put out cat food, gathering food for their young, or even just taking a break from the demand of nursing babies for a while!

Which animals carry rabies?

Any mammal, including humans, can contract and carry rabies.

How will I be able to tell if an animal has rabies? What signs do I look for?

In the active (“furious”) form of rabies, wild animals may appear agitated, bite or snap at imaginary and real objects, and show unprovoked aggression. In the inactive (“dumb”) form, wild animals may appear uncharacteristically tame and show no fear of humans. Animals may also seem neurologically impaired; they may seem disoriented, look drunk or wobbly, appear partially paralyzed, drag a limb, or even circle repeatedly. Although most of these neurological signs can be indicative of other things - like distemper, head trauma, or lead poisoning - there are two signs which seem exclusive to rabies: self-mutilation (e.g., chewing off toes) and a continual, high-pitched vocalization.

Can I get rabies from feces or blood?

No, rabies is not transmitted through the blood, urine, or feces of an infected animal, nor is it spread airborne through the open environment. Saliva provides the primary transmission medium when the animal is in the clinical (visibly showing signs) stage of rabies. Yet before the rabies virus can get to the salivary glands, it has to travel first from the site of entry (usually a bite wound) through the animal's nervous system and on to the brain. When the virus hits the brain, the rabid animal begins to show abnormal behaviors, depending on which part of the brain is infected. Finally, the virus travels to the salivary glands during the clinical stage of rabies, just prior to death. It is this latter stage of rabies when an animal is most infectious because the virus is in the saliva. If the rabid animal bites another animal in this stage, it can transmit the virus to a new mammal host.

Can I get rabies by sitting on grass that a rabid animal drooled on?

No; the virus cannot penetrate intact skin. People can get rabies through a bite from a rabid animal or through scratches, abrasions, open wounds, or mucous membranes contaminated with saliva or brain tissue from a rabid animal. But the virus dies on contact with air and isn't viable after the saliva dries. If you are handling a companion animal who has been in a fight with a potentially rabid animal, wear gloves to prevent contact with any still-fresh saliva. Other contact, such as petting a rabid animal or intact skin contact with the blood, urine, or feces of a rabid animal, does not constitute an exposure.

Don't many people die every year of rabies in the U.S.?

The CDC has compiled statistics on the number and type of human rabies cases in the United States since 1980. The handful of human deaths from rabies annually (on average 2.4 a year, nationwide) has been largely due to a bat strain or canine strain from abroad. Most of the bat cases have been of the silver-haired bat strain, which is surprising: This species is rarely found around human houses. Only one human has ever died from the raccoon strain of rabies, despite people's growing fears about raccoons. The low incidence of human rabies in the U.S. doesn't mean people can't contract rabies; it just means they need to take sensible precautions to prevent exposures and seek prompt post-exposure prophylaxis when advised to do so by health authorities. Rabies is 100% preventable if the post-exposure prophylaxis is administered.

What should I tell callers who have been bitten by a potentially rabid animal or handled their own animal who was in a fight?

They should be advised to wash the wound thoroughly with soap and water, monitor the biting animal's whereabouts, and immediately contact their local animal control officer for assistance in capturing the animal for rabies testing. Then they should contact their local health department for instructions and to report the incident. Next, they should contact their physician for further advice. If they're unsure whether the bite broke the skin on their hands, they can put their hands in rubbing alcohol to see whether and where it stings. Questions about rabies should go to the health department.

Species-specific Questions

Don't a lot of bats carry rabies?

Actually, a very small percentage of bats carry rabies, much less than one percent of any population at any one time. However, if you suspect that a bat has bitten you or if a bat is found in the room where a person is sleeping or incapacitated, current health guidelines recommend that the bat be tested for rabies and that you contact your local health department and/or doctor for instructions.

Isn't a fox seen by day rabid?

Foxes haven't read the textbooks telling them to be nocturnal. They are active when mice and other small prey are active, which is why it's common to see foxes hunting by day. It's also normal for kits to be seen playing by themselves, seemingly without parental supervision, and showing little fear of people. Kits are left behind for short periods of time while the parents go off hunting, something that continues until the kits are old enough to go along.

I see a baby raccoon outside during the day - is it rabid?

It's possible that this baby has been temporarily separated from Mom or that she is truly orphaned. When baby raccoons are orphaned, they don't know night from day - they only know that they are extremely hungry. If the baby isn't retrieved by the mother after several hours (moms rarely leave their cubs alone for long), use heavy gloves or a trowel to push the baby into a cardboard box with a ventilated top and a flannel shirt for comfort. Do not touch the raccoon with your bare hands. Go to humanesociety.org/wildliferehab to locate a rehabilitator licensed to take in raccoons.

There's a baby skunk running around by day - is the skunk rabid?

It's possible, but it's more likely that the skunk has lost sight of his mother because skunks are so near-sighted. Advise the caller to put a plastic laundry basket upside-down over the skunk to hold him in place and to give the mom a chance to retrieve him (the mother will be able to flip up the edge of the basket). If the skunk appears truly orphaned, go to humanesociety.org/wildliferehab to locate a rehabilitator.

There's an opossum hissing and drooling at me - is the opossum rabid?

For unknown reasons, opossums are amazingly resistant to rabies. Hissing, drooling, and swaying are part of the opossum's bluff routine to scare you and other predators away. Unlike other animals, opossums don't always flee when they're scared; they tend to hold their ground and rely on various behaviors to scare off the threat. Advise callers to leave the opossum alone, and eventually, he'll wander off.

I see a woodchuck/groundhog circling and falling over - is he rabid?

For unknown reasons, woodchucks are more prone to contracting rabies than other species of rodents. Woodchucks are also susceptible to the roundworm brain parasite, which causes behavior that can look very similar to rabies. Roundworm is transmitted through the ingestion of an infected animal's feces. Keep people and companion animals away from any sick-acting woodchuck and contact your local animal control officer or rehabilitator for assistance.