By Cristin Ross

cross@jacksonvilleprogress.com

It’s not made an appearance in Cherokee County yet, but several confirmed cases of rabies have already been reported in neighboring counties this year.

The Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS) has issued alerts following confirmation of several rabid skunks in Rusk County and at least one case each of rabid skunks in Nacogdoches and Angelina counties in the last two weeks.

“We haven’t had any reported cases in Cherokee County this year,” said Dr. James Wright, D.V.M., Tyler-based regional zoonosis control officer for the TDSHS. “But I hasten to add that it’s still very early in the year and that doesn’t mean there aren’t any rabid skunks out there.

“It may very well be that it’s become such a common thing, that people are just shooting suspicious animals and leaving them lie in the pasture, without sending them in.”

Wright said his records report Cherokee County did report one case in 2006 and 2007 and 12 cases in 2005 and eight cases in 2004.

Henderson Animal Control officer Veronica Whittington told the Lufkin Daily News recently that as many as four rabid skunks have been found inside the city limits las month — including two rabid skunks found nesting under a desk in a local manufacturing office.

“The guy was actually sitting at the desk,” she stated in the Daily News. “No one was sprayed, and we safely removed them.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Web site, www.cdc.gov, the rabies virus is spread most often through the bite of an infected animal.

“The rabies virus infects the central nervous system, causing encephalopathy and ultimately death,” states the Web site. “Early symptoms of rabies in humans are nonspecific, consisting of fever, headache, and general malaise.

“As the disease progresses, neurological symptoms appear and may include insomnia, anxiety, confusion, slight or partial paralysis, excitation, hallucinations, agitation, hypersalivation, difficulty swallowing, and hydrophobia (fear of water). Death usually occurs within days of the onset of symptoms.”

Wright warns that skunks aren’t the only animals that are posing potential problems right now, either.

“We’re seeing more and more bats inside buildings right now,” he said. “They’re becoming more active this time of year, too.”

Wright said there have not been any reports of rabid bats in the East Texas area this year, and reminds people never to pick up a bat found lying on the ground or caught inside a house.

The virus is preventable with a vaccination.

“The most important reason to get your pets vaccinated is that it decreases the chances of people being exposed to the virus,” said veterinarian Dr. Anthony Holcomb, owner of Cherokee Animal Clinic in Rusk.

Texas law says any domestic animal that is infected with rabies should be euthanized.

“If a pet that has been vaccinated is exposed (to rabies), it’d be quarantined and given booster shots.”

In the last century, cases of rabies in the U.S. has made a noticeable shift.

“More than 90 percent of all animal cases reported annually to CDC now occur in wildlife; before 1960 the majority were in domestic animals,” the CDC Web site states. “The principal rabies hosts today are wild carnivores and bats.

“Modern day prophylaxis has proven nearly 100 percent successful. In the U.S., human fatalities associated with rabies occur in people who fail to seek medical assistance, usually because they were unaware of their exposure.”

There is only one case in the U.S. of a human recovering from rabies without medical help.

The CDC reports the estimated public health costs associated with rabies detection, prevention and control exceed $300 million annually.