Surge in cases of rabies has officials worried-4/17/00-By Jennifer Packer
The number of rabies cases in North Texas is reaching alarming proportions, but many people aren't heeding warnings to vaccinate their pets, a state official said.
The 49-county region has logged 120 rabies cases since Jan. 1 and by the end of the year is likely to be the most in a decade, topping the 148 cases in 1991, said Jan Buck, a zoonosis control specialist for the state Health Department's regional office in Arlington.
"Usually we see a peak in the spring, but what is going on is extremely disturbing," Ms. Buck said. "People can't assume it's a Dark Ages disease that's not with us anymore. It's a preventable disease and a horrible disease for an animal or a human to die from."
Denton County, with 34 cases so far, tops the list. Wise and Cooke counties, with 20 and 19 cases respectively, are next. Dallas County reported a single case in January, when an infected cat bit a girl and her father in a North Dallas neighborhood. Tarrant County has reported six rabies cases, most of them in northeast cities. Collin County hasn't had any cases so far this year.
Most of the cases have been found in skunks, which normally carry rabies at low levels within their populations. But recent mild winters have provided plenty of food and other optimal conditions for the animals' survival, Ms. Buck said.
And as the area's human population increases, with more people moving into previously rural areas, there are more opportunities for people to encounter wild animals that may carry the virus.
In Keller, for example, where a rabid skunk was found in a residential area last month, the number of residents surged from about 1,500 in 1970 to 26,000 today.
"A lot of these pastures are just being torn up, and these possums and skunks don't know where to go," said Keller veterinarian Roland Roudon.
Rabies attacks the central nervous system of animals and people, causing confusion, partial paralysis, hallucinations and other reactions. It is most often spread though bites and almost always fatal if not treated immediately.
The virus is usually first spread to skunks by infected bats that fly through the area. Other wild animals that carry rabies are coyotes, foxes and raccoons.
In Denton County, calls about potentially rabid animals have kept the county's two animal control officers constantly busy patrolling unincorporated areas, said sheriff's Deputy Jason Inman.
"For right now, it is a pretty serious problem," Deputy Inman said. "Every chance we get, we go out and pick up stray dogs and advise the owners to get them vaccinated."
One recent call, he said, came from a woman in a mobile home park seven miles west of the city of Denton. A skunk had clamped onto the woman's robe with its teeth when she stepped outside to get her mail. The animal, which later tested positive for rabies, held on until a neighbor knocked it off with a shovel.
The state Health Department has been sending out informational fliers about the recent surge to veterinarians and government offices. Some areas, including Tarrant County, the city of Roanoke and several other cities in Denton County, have in turn sent warnings to residents to vaccinate their pets.
But that hasn't made much of a difference in most parts of North Texas, Ms. Buck said.
"What people don't understand is by protecting our pets, we're protecting ourselves," she said. "These little old rabid skunks often end up in someone's back yard with their beloved pets."
Dr. Roudon said he's seen a 10 percent increase recently in people bringing their pets in for vaccinations. Typically, he said, only about 30 percent to 35 percent of pets across the region are vaccinated for rabies each year.
"People don't really do much until the threat is right at the back door," he said.
But in some parts of Denton County, people seem to be paying more attention to the threat, said Flower Mound veterinarian Joe Shaffer.
In recent weeks, Dr. Shaffer said, he's had a 25 percent increase in people seeking rabies vaccinations for their
pets and livestock.
"Out here in my part of the world, it's still kind of rural, and word passes fast," Dr. Shaffer said.
Copyright 2000 The Dallas Morning News
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