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Rabies: A Public Health Victory
Billed as a “killer disease,” complete with its own awareness day and
over-hyped media attention, rabies is a topic that can come up when
discussing cats living outdoors—often by people who mistakenly
believe that feral cats don’t belong there. They might use rabies as
a reason to introduce catch and kill plans to remove cats from certain
areas, saying feral cats pose a public health risk because they could
have rabies. Yet rabies is actually a public health victory. In fact, from
2000-2007, there were only 25 confirmed cases of rabies in America.
And none of those cases were caused by cats. This month, Alley Cat
Allies is proud to announce a new section in the online Veterinary
Resource Center devoted to rabies. The section includes a full-range
of information and facts about the rabies virus: its low prevalence in
feral cats, how Trap-Neuter-Return programs help, how long rabies
vaccines last, the history of rabies in the United States; and proven
effective programs which target the true sources of rabies: wildlife.
These facts shatter the myths about the disease. Armed with this
information, you can spread the word that feral cats do not pose a
public health risk.
Start learning the real truth about rabies today »
http://www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=685&srctid=1&erid=6302465
Rabies is a topic that can come up when discussing cats living outdoors—
often by people who mistakenly believe that feral cats don’t belong
there. They might use rabies as a reason to introduce catch and kill
plans to remove cats from certain areas, saying feral cats pose a public
health risk because they could have rabies.
Billed as a “killer disease” with its own awareness day and hyped-up
media attention any time it is mentioned, rabies is actually a public
health victory—there were only 25 confirmed cases of rabies in
America from 2000-2007. None of those cases were caused by cats.
In that same time period, there were 27,541 cases of West Nile
virus in this country, and 1,080 people died of it.
Alley Cat Allies has the facts on rabies to shatter the myths about
the disease—so that you fully understand and can inform others.
Armed with this information, you can spread the word that feral
cats do not pose a public health risk.
Here you’ll find a full-range of information and facts about the
rabies virus: its low prevalence in feral cats, how Trap-Neuter-Return
programs help, how long rabies vaccines last and how they can
negatively affect cats’ health, the history of rabies in the United
States; and proven effective programs which target the true sources
of rabies: wildlife.
Overview: What You Need to Know about Rabies
Rabies and Trap-Neuter-Return Programs
Vaccinations and Feline Cancer
Rabies Control in the U.S.
Wildlife and Rabies
Rabies Laws Cost Lives
What You Need to Know About Rabies
Rabies is an acute viral infection of the central nervous system.
Rabies viruses can infect most mammals, and are usually spread
when saliva from a rabid animal enters the body via a mucous
membrane, a puncture wound, or open cut. Once inside the body,
the virus travels from the initial point of contact to the nerves, spinal
cord, and, finally, the brain. The incubation period between exposure
to the virus and onset of symptoms for humans can last for months,
and as long as treatment begins before symptoms arise rabies can
be completely prevented. However, once symptoms begin, the disease
nearly always turns fatal.
Cases of human rabies are exceedingly rare in the U.S.
Over the last decade, the U.S. has averaged one or two cases per year,
and wildlife account for the majority of exposures. Only one human
rabies case was reported in 2007. Wildlife is the most common
source of human exposure.
People most often contract rabies via a bite of a rabid animal.
Rabies is transmitted through the saliva or brain tissue of an infected
animal, and this happens most often via the bite of a rabid animal.
Infected saliva must enter an open wound or mucous membrane to
transmit the virus. Surveillance statistics show that bats are now the
number one source of rabies exposure in the U.S., followed by
raccoons, skunks, and foxes. “Wildlife is the biggest source of rabies
in the U.S.,” says Susan Dicks, DVM, a private practitioner in
Albuquerque who also has wildlife experience. In fact, more than
90% of rabies cases occur in wildlife.
Feral cats do not spread rabies.
The last confirmed cat to human transmission of rabies occurred
more than 30 years ago. While it's possible for feral cats to become
infected with rabies, feral cat colonies themselves do not generally
serve as a source of the disease. “We see rabies more often in raccoons
and bats than in the cat population,” says Roberta Lillich, DVM,
president of the American Association of Feline Practitioners.
Rabies is caused by a virus that comes in several different varieties,
some of which are specially adapted to specific animal species. For
instance, dogs can develop canine rabies, and this canine rabies
variant can thrive in unvaccinated dog populations, which in turn
may serve as an ongoing source of rabies in a community. But
rabies has never developed a specific feline variant, and thus cats
are merely incidental victims, says Julie Levy, DVM, PhD, at the
University of Florida in Gainesville.
Cat behavior may explain why rabies is relatively uncommon in
felines, says Lillich. “Skunks and raccoons are major sources of
rabies, and most cats who are faced with a challenge by a skunk
or raccoon will run away, whereas a dog is more likely to attack,”
she says. When faced with non-prey animals, “cats are generally
defensive animals rather than offensive animals,” Lillich says, and
the small rodents such as squirrels, chipmunks, rats, mice and
rabbits that feral cats may hunt are rarely infected with rabies. Feral
cat colonies managed with Trap-Neuter-Return programs do not
harbor rabies, because vaccinations are proven to protect them
from the disease for multiple years.
The rabies vaccine has helped to make rabies a public health victory.
“The rabies vaccine has been one of the big public health successes
of the past 50 years,” says Dicks. Studies show that rabies vaccines
induce a long-lasting immunity, and widespread immunization
campaigns, education programs, and state and local laws have come
close to eliminating the disease in cats and dogs. The fact that wildlife,
not domestic cats and dogs, now serve as the prime sources of rabies
exposure in the U.S. is proof that vaccination programs work. “Rabies
will never be controlled or eliminated in the U.S. until effective
programs to eradicate rabies in wildlife are carried out,” says Levy.
Learn more about Wildlife and Rabies.
http://www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=691
Rabies vaccines outlast their expiration dates.
“Even a single dose of rabies vaccination provides years of protection
against rabies infection,” says Levy. In one study*, 12-week-old
kittens given a single rabies vaccine were completely protected
against rabies four years later when they were exposed to the rabies
virus, she says. “There is solid evidence that a single rabies vaccine
produces multi-year immunity.” (*Note: Alley Cat Allies is against
testing on animals, as it is against all cruelty toward animals. There
are better alternatives to animal testing—including mathematical
and computer modeling or using cultures from cells, organs, or
tissues—that are precise and sophisticated.)
Vaccination schedules that require one or three year boosters are
based on state and local laws, not evidence about the vaccines’ efficacy,
says Lillich. Most local laws require rabies vaccination either yearly
or every three years and so vaccine manufacturers tailor their studies
and products to these time periods. In fact, one vaccine manufacturer
produces multiple versions of the identical vaccine with different
labels according to the locally mandated vaccination schedules.
Studies suggest that the vaccines last a minimum of three years, but
due to expense and logistics, large-scale studies have never been
extended past three years, Lillich says. Some trials suggest that the
vaccines last beyond three years, and the Rabies Challenge Fund (RCF)
was founded in 2005 to determine the duration of immunity that
rabies vaccines provide in hopes of convincing lawmakers to change
laws mandating excessive vaccinations. The RCF aims to extend
the required interval for rabies boosters to at least seven years. Learn
more about Vaccinations and Feline Cancer.
http://www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=688
A person bitten by a rabid animal can easily be treated to avoid
contracting rabies.
Treatment for humans who have been exposed to the rabies virus,
called post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), is completely effective when
begun before the onset of symptoms. The incubation period in
humans generally lasts three to eight weeks, but can extend even
longer if the infected bite occurred distant from the brain, for
instance in a foot.
Rabies shots do not involve a bunch of painful shots in the stomach
anymore.
While it’s true that rabies shots given after an exposure once
consisted of numerous injections to the stomach, those days are
long over. Today, rabies shots are given in the arm and are no more
painful than a flu shot. The number of doses required has also
changed. In June of 2009, the Advisory Committee on Immunization
Practices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised
their guidelines to recommend a single dose of human rabies
immune globulin followed by four booster shots, rather than the
five boosters previously recommended.
Trap-Neuter-Return programs help control rabies.
By vaccinating feral cats against rabies, Trap-Neuter-Return
programs, also known as TNR, prevent rabies from infecting feral
cat colonies. Rabies vaccinations provide multi-year immunity,
and since feral cats involved in TNR programs are vaccinated and
therefore cannot acquire or transmit the virus, they pose no threats
to humans or other animals.
Learn more about Rabies and Trap-Neuter-Return programs.
http://www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=687
Posted on SHARE Yahoo group 11/13/09