Rabies is just one of many communicable diseases that can be spread by something as simple as picking up and carrying for a hurt or orphaned animal. failure to take ample safety precautions can put you or your family at risk. Don't pick up wild animals please!
Rabies is one of the oldest known viral diseases, yet today it remains a significant wildlife-management and public-health challenge. Rabies affects the central nervous system of un-vaccinated animals that are exposed to the virus and is invariably fatal. many species of wildlife are known to be carriers or vectors of rabies-Raccoons, Fox, feral cats, bats, and lets not forget our own domesticated animals that may come in contact with them such as cats (rare) and dogs.
What to do if bitten by any animal
If you have been bitten or scratched by an animal that might
be rabid, do the following:
• Act promptly, but do not panic. It takes time for the rabies
virus to react in the body.
• Capture and kill the suspect animal, if possible, without
destroying the head.
• Wash the wound immediately and thoroughly with generous
amounts of soap and water. Then apply rubbing alcohol or
a strong solution of water and iodine to the exposed areas
(except for the eyes, of course).
• Contact a physician immediately after this first-aid treatment.
Rabies vaccine and antiserum will then be administered as
required.
The following are from The Center For Disease Control:
Rabies is a viral disease caused by infection of the central nervous systems of wild and domestic animals and humans. The initial symptoms of human rabies resemble those of other systemic viral infections, including fever, headache, malaise, and disorders of the upper respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts. Recognizing that a person has been exposed to the virus and prompt treatment are essential for preventing rabies. For once clinical symptoms have begun, there is no treatment for rabies and almost all patients will die from the disease or its complications within a few weeks of onset.
In the United States, wild animals (especially bats, raccoons, skunks, coyotes, and foxes) are the most important sources of rabies infection. Indigenous rabid bats have been reported from every state except Hawaii. Individual bats from most of the estimated 41 bat species in the United States have been found to be infected with rabies virus. Rabies virus associated with insectivorous bats (those that feed principally on insects) accounted for 32 of the 35 indigenous rabies cases in humans in the United States between 1958 and 2000.
Rabies is transmitted via an infected animal’s bite or by contamination of abrasions, open wounds, mucous membranes or theoretically, scratches, by infectious material such as saliva. Contact with the blood, urine, or manure of a rabid animal is not a risk factor for contracting rabies. Consequently, workers exposed to accumulations of bat droppings in environments from which bats have been excluded have no rabies risk. Although spelunkers seldom have direct contact with bats, they are included in a frequent-risk category by CDC because of potential for bite, nonbite, or aerosol exposure to the rabies virus. Two fatal cases of rabies in humans have been attributed to possible airborne exposures in caves containing millions of free-tailed bats. In addition, between 1990 and 2000, a bite was documented in only 2 of the 24 U.S. human rabies cases caused by bat-associated rabies virus variants. This suggests “that transmission of rabies virus can occur from minor, seemingly unimportant, or unrecognized bites from bats.” (144) While aerosol transmission of the rabies virus from bats to people is theoretically possible under extraordinary conditions, the risk is otherwise negligible.
The percentage of rabid bats in any colony is probably low (0.5% or less). However, a dead bat should still never be picked up with bare hands since its death may have been caused by an infectious agent. The rabies virus can remain infectious in a carcass until decomposition is well advanced. Thus, whenever possible, a shovel or some other tool should be used to pick up and dispose of a dead bat. If a dead bat must be handled, wearing heavy work gloves should minimize the risk of disease transmission because of an accidental scratch from the bat’s teeth or by contamination of existing scratches or abrasions on a worker’s hands.
For a complete description of rabies, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention web site http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/rabies/
