There have been several recent reports in the media regarding skunk rabies that appears to be entering eastern Colorado from Kansas. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) has issued advisories to local public health agencies and veterinarians regarding 8 confirmed cases of rabies in wildlife in the eastern part of Colorado, including 7 skunks and 1 coyote, over the past year. Based upon the widely dispersed locations of these rabies-positive specimens, it appears that skunk rabies may be circulating in eastern areas of Colorado and potentially moving west toward the Front Range.
Besides the fact that current rabies vaccinations are required by state law, there have been recent incidents that really reinforce the need to keep these up to date.
Fremont County Environmental Health Officer Sid Darden notes that a few years ago in Fremont County, 2 'barn' cats owned by a couple were exposed to a bat. Unfortunately the bat was not able to be tested for rabies, and following protocols established by the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment, it must be assumed that the bat was positive for rabies. To further complicate the situation, neither of the cats had ever been vaccinated. The owners of the cats were faced with 2 options:
- Have the cats euthanized immediately.
- Put the cats into quarantine at a veterinarian's clinic for 3 months at the owner's expense and immediately begin the series of rabies vaccinations.
If at the end of the 3 month quarantine at the veterinarian's clinic the cats were healthy and showed no sign of disease, they could be released to the homeowners for an additional home quarantine of 3 more months.
Darden says that last year, a local dog owner observed his dog in an encounter with a raccoon. The dog killed the raccoon, but this dog had also never been vaccinated for rabies. The raccoon was sent to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Lab for rabies testing and fortunately it was negative for rabies; the owner subsequently got his dog vaccinated with the shots that he should have had all along. If the raccoon had tested positive or if the raccoon couldn't have been tested, the dog's owner would have been in the same situation as the owners of the unvaccinated cats.
In both scenarios, the fact that these domestic pets did not have current rabies vaccinations and, in fact, had never been vaccinated, was the critical factor. If their rabies vaccinations had been current and up to date, even without the ability to test the bat or the raccoon, it would have been a relatively simple matter of a rabies booster and a period of observation, depending on what their veterinarian and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment recommended. Keep your pets vaccinated and keep vaccination records up-to-date.