Colorado Woman Rescues Baby Raccoon, Exposes 21 People To Rabies

fantasticbeastsandhowtokeepthem:

“According to the Executive Director of the Weld County Health Department, Mark E. Wallace, MD, MPH, this year has seen a high number of rabies exposure in animals, which is why the public is advised not to go near or touch wild animals. The same advice was given after a woman touched a dead rabid bat with her bare hands just last June. She was also given the post-exposure treatments.

“We’re not just seeing typical skunk or bat rabies this year. We’re concerned about the growing number of cases among other animals such as raccoons and cat,” said Wallace.

It is because of this so-called spillover that increases the risk of human rabies infection, especially in the summer, when rabies cases are more common than in other seasons. As the disease may affect all mammals, including humans, it is important to keep family members as well as pets protected from wild animal encounters and to keep pets’ rabies vaccinations up to date.“

This is why it’s important to be really careful with wildlife in the US. Avoid handling or interacting with wildlife if at all possible. If you’re worried about a possibly injured or orphaned animal, contact a wildlife rehabilitation center, or a vet clinic. Rehabilitating injured & orphaned wildlife can be challenging, and is illegal in many states. You can look for rehabs in your area here – http://wildliferehabinfo.org/ContactList_MnPg.htm 

If you need to handle or transport the animal to the rehab or clinic yourself, take appropriate precautions! Avoid touching the animal as much as possible. If you do need to handle it at all (to place in a box or carrier), wear leather gloves and use a towel. If you do not have appropriate supplies or have any doubts about your ability to handle the animal safely, do not attempt to do so. Your safety comes first. 

If you use your pet’s normal carrier to transport the animal, disassemble the carrier afterwards and disinfect the entire carrier with a bleach solution to make sure it’s clean from other diseases & parasites. If you transported a raccoon in your carrier, it’d be a good idea to use extra precautions in cleaning due to raccoon roundworm – https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/baylisascaris/resources/raccoonlatrines.pdf 

And as the article mentions, it’s best to supervise your pets when they’re outside, keep cats inside unless supervised, and keep them up to date on vaccinations!

Colorado Woman Rescues Baby Raccoon, Exposes 21 People To Rabies