What
is rabies?
Which
animals can get rabies?
How
can you tell if an animal has rabies?
How
common is animal rabies in Vermont?
How
do people get rabies?
How
can you protect yourself against rabies?
What
should you do if an animal bites you?
What
happens to the animal that bit you?
Who
should get rabies shots?
Vermont
Rabies Hotline
| What is
rabies?
Rabies, sometimes known as hydrophobia, is a deadly disease of the brain. |
| Which animals
can get rabies?
Any animal with hair or fur (including humans) can get rabies. However, rabies is most often seen among wild animals such as bats, raccoons, skunks and foxes. Cats, dogs and livestock can also get rabies if they do not have special shots to protect them. |
| How can you
tell if an animal has rabies?
Rabid animals show a change in their normal behavior. They may show unusual aggression, extreme depression or bizarre behavior. A rabid animal dies within a few days to a few weeks after showing these signs. Animals may be contagious before they show any of these signs. |
| How common
is animal rabies in Vermont?
Rabies continues to spread in Vermont. There have been hundreds of cases of rabies involving the fox strain (which spread into the northern and easter part of the state in 1992) and the raccoon strain (which entered the state from the south in 1994). |
| How do
people get rabies?
People are usually exposed to the rabies virus when an infected animal bites them. This is because the rabies virus lives in the saliva (spit) of the infected animal. People can also be exposed to rabies if the animal's saliva gets into a cut or open wound or into a person's eyes, nose or mouth. |
| How can
you protect yourself against rabies?
Do not try to touch
or pick up wild animals or strays, even baby animals. Do not try to feed
them or make them into pets.
Make sure that all
family pets get rabies shots, and keep those shots up-to-date. Vaccines
start protecting dogs and cats about a month after they get the shot.
Report unknown or
strangely behaving animals to your town's animal control officer. If the
animal is wild, contact your game warden.
Do not make your yard inviting to wild animals. Feed your pets inside the house. Fasten trash can lids tightly. Raccoon-proof your compost. Keep pets indoors at night. If they are out during the day, keep them on a leash or in a closed space. Pets that roam freely are more likely to get rabies. Wear heavy protective gloves when handling a pet that has been involved with a wild or stray animal. |
| What should
you do if an animal bites you?
Wash the bite wound with soap and warm water for five minutes. Try to capture the animal only if you can do it without getting bitten again. You are more likely to need rabies shots if the animal cannot be found. Report the bite to your doctor and to the town health officer. Follow their instructions. |
| What happens
to the animal that bit you?
Dogs or cats that have been vaccinated or show no sign of rabies can be watched under the supervision of a town health officer. If they don't develop rabies within 10 days, you will not get rabies. Dogs or cats that show signs of rabies at the time of the bite, or within 10 days, must be killed by a veterinarian and tested at the Health Department Laboratory. Wild animals cannot be kept alive and watched. They must be killed by game wardens or veterinarians and tested for rabies immediately. Farm animals (such as horses, cows, goats and sheep) that do not seem sick when they bite can usually be watched on site under the supervision of the local health officer or veterinarian. |
| Who should
get rabies shots?
If you are bitten or exposed to animal saliva, your doctor and the Health department will recommend whether shots are necessary. Preventing rabies requires a series of at least six shots, and they are most often given in the arm. These shots are nearly 100 percent effective. |
If you have contact with an animal
that may have rabies, call the Vermont Department of Health at 1-800-640-4374
or 863-7240 (8 to 4:30 Mon-Fri)
