What should you do if you are bitten by an animal?
Any warm-blooded animal, (dog, cat, skunk, fox, bat, etc.), may have rabies. Any animal bite should be treated as serious. The following precautions should be taken if you are bitten:
When an animal bites a person, who is in charge?
What happens to the animal that bites someone?
Dog and Cats (Domestic)
Regardless of vaccination status, the dog or cat MUST be quarantined for ten (10) days or humanely destroyed. If humanly destroyed, the brain must not be damaged as it must be submitted to a rabies laboratory for testing. If the animal is to be quarantined, the ten (10) day observation period begins on the day the bite occurred.
High Risk Animals
Skunks, bats, foxes, coyotes and raccoons MUST be humanely destroyed, and their head must be submitted for rabies testing.
Low Risk Animals
Opossums, shrews, moles, squirrels, gophers, mice, rabbits, rats and armadillos do not need to be quarantined or tested unless the RCA has reason to believe that the biting animal has rabies.
Other Biting Animals
All biting animals, high risk or low risk, that are not categorized as domestic dogs or cats should be humanely destroyed and tested. However, current rules allow a thirty (30) day quarantine as an alternative to testing.
What is quarantine?
Quarantine means placing the animal in a facility which provides:
Quarantine must be in one of the following facilities:
The TDH is responsible for inspection of all quarantine facilities in an animal shelter, however, the RCA is responsible for the proper handling and observation of all animals being quarantined.
What if the animal gets sick while in quarantine?
The animal should be examined by a veterinarian and if it is determined that it shows clinical signs of rabies, the RCA must submit the head for testing. The bite victim should be notified if the animal becomes sick, so that consultation on rabies treatment will be obtained. If the animal dies, the head must be removed and tested for rabies.
Who pays for quarantine?
The owner of the biting animal is required by state law to pay the cost of the quarantine.
RABIES
More Questions & Answers about Rabies: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/rabies/
Man and all mammals are susceptible to rabies, which is almost invariably fatal.
The disease is transmitted by an infected animal's biting or licking. The virus enters the victim's body through a break in the skin, or rarely, through mucous membranes (eyes, nose, throat).
Rabies affects the central nervous system. It may take from ten days to over a year to develop; however, exposed people can be successfully treated before the development of symptoms by a series of vaccinations.
Rabies infection is detected by laboratory examination of the suspect brain tissue.
Wildlife rabies is a major source of infection for domestic animals, including pets. This disease may be transmitted to man either by infected wild or domestic animals.
Contrary to popular belief, rabies occurs in all seasons and in all sections of the country.
WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR:
Bold, "friendly," or "apparently tame" wild animals. Night animals, like skunks and foxes, that are seen in the daytime. Pets that have difficulty walking, eating or drinking. Signs of excitement or viciousness in normally quiet animals. Animals that tear at or scratch an old wound until it bleeds. Cattle that "strain" for long periods. Bats that are unable to fly.
In the early stages, the personality of pets may change. A normally friendly dog may stay alone, another may begin to seek more attention. Some animals scratch at the place virus entered their bodies. Later symptoms follow a "furious" pattern, a "dumb" (paralytic) pattern or a combination of both.
If you are bitten by an animal, treat the bite as if the animal were rabid, and follow these steps. They may save your life.
STEPS TO COMMUNITY CONTROL OF RABIES: