OFFICIALS URGE RABIES SHOTS FOR ALL CATS AND DOGS

Veterinarians and state health officials urge dog and cat owners to have their animals vaccinated for rabies.

Rabies vaccination clinics are scheduled this month in a number of communities. The city of Cape Girardeau, in cooperation with local veterinarians, will sponsor a two-day vaccination clinic Friday and Saturday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Trinity Lutheran Men's Club Shelter in Arena Park. Cost of the shot is $6 per animal.

Health officials said Ste. Genevieve County remains under a rabies alert because of the number of rabid skunks that have been killed there since last summer. Cape Girardeau veterinarian John Koch said the number of rabies cases in Cape Girardeau County has been unusually low the past several years.

"That's good," he said, "but at the same time it's also bad. It's good because it means we haven't had to deal with a lot of rabies in the county, but it's bad because many pet owners have gotten complacent and not had their pets vaccinated each year.

"When there is no rabies activity for a few years people tend to forget that all it takes is one or two rabid skunks or other warm-blooded animals in the wild that are infected with rabies to come into contact with a dog or cat. The larger the unvaccinated population of dogs and cats, the greater the risk of a rabies outbreak. It can happen so quick that it will be ahead of you before you realize it."

Koch said there was a major outbreak of rabies in eastern Kansas in 1993. "We were afraid it might move into eastern Missouri, but so far we've seen no significant increase in the number of rabies cases," said Koch.

"The thing about rabies is that it can remain dormant in the carrier for as long as two years, then suddenly becomes very active, especially at this time of year, when the mating season begins and there is a lot of stress in both male and female animals."

Sue Tippen with the Missouri Department of Health's regional office at Poplar Bluff said Ste. Genevieve County was placed under a rabies alert last summer. "I look for Oregon County to be placed under a rabies alert soon because two rabid skunks were killed there," said Tippen.

Tippen said rabies vaccinations are life insurance for pets. "The cost of the series of five rabies shots for humans who have been bitten by a rabid animal is $500. The cost of a rabies vaccination for your pet is less than $15, so you can see it does pay to immunize."

Tippen said once the symptoms of rabies appear in animals it is too late and the animal must be destroyed. "If I owned valuable dogs or cats I would make sure they are vaccinated each year," she said. "But even if they're only family pets they deserve the same protection."

Tippen reminded pet owners to be sure the rabies vaccine is administered by a licensed veterinarian. She said: "Rabies vaccinations that are administered by anyone except a veterinarian are not recognized by the health department. The vaccinated animal would have to be destroyed if it is bitten by another rabid animal.

"If you plan to take your pet with you on summer vacation be sure the animal is vaccinated for rabies by a veterinarian and that you carry the certificate of vaccination with you," she said.

Tippen said there are two types of rabies in animals: vicious rabies and dumb rabies. She said the first visible symptom of vicious rabies is a change in the personality of the animal; a normally friendly, active dog may become shy and sluggish while an animal that is normally quiet and shy may become aggressive and attack other animals.

Other rabies symptoms include: refusal to eat, snapping, snarling, and eating sticks or stones. The final symptom is paralysis followed by a painful death within a few days.

There are few vicious symptoms of dumb rabies. The infected animal develops a rapidly progressive paralysis lasting three to five days and ending in death.

The rabies virus is transmitted through the saliva of the infected animal, which means it can be transmitted in other ways than biting. Infected animals can transit the rabies virus to other animals or humans five days before the visible symptoms appear in the infected animal.

For humans, the incubation period for those exposed to rabies can range from 10 days to well over one year.

Once the symptoms appear in humans it's too late to administer the anti-rabies vaccine. At that point, the disease usually results in death.

"Rabies is a deadly disease that should never be taken lightly," said Tippen.