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Subscribe to RSSDozens of pet dogs around one New Mexico city have had to be euthanized since December because they were exposed to rabid animals and hadn’t been vaccinated, the state’s health department said Wednesday.
In addition to the 32 dogs that were euthanized, livestock and at least one cat also had to be put down in the Carlsbad area.
In an outbreak documented by state health officials in Eddy County, 22 skunks, one dog and one fox have tested positive for rabies, state health officials announced in a news release.
Twelve people in the county have received medicine for post-rabies exposure.
"This is one of the most concentrated outbreaks of rabies that has been seen in New Mexico for decades," Dr. Paul Ettestad, the health department’s public health veterinarian said in a statement. "Everyone should encourage their family and their neighbors to have their pets vaccinated against rabies to protect their community."
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It is glad that they have found the rabies and they have provided enough medications to those who have infected.
There is no cure for rabies. It is fatal You people need to spend some time outside the city.
There is treatment for exposure to rabies. Google it. http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/pubs/vis/downloads/vis-rabies.pdf ~ and ~ http://www.vaccineinformation.org/rabies/qandavax.asp
There is treatment if you can get it before the symptoms start....once symptoms start you better be very young and and one of the very luckiest people alive..there have been 2 documented cases where people have recovered using a new protocol developed just in the last few years. So that would make it...99.9% fatal?
onegoldfish, they tried the Milwaukee protocol on a man here in Massachusetts and he still died. Its not a full proof method.
why was there no quarantine period ???? if you tried to kill my or my cat I would have an issue with that....but this is a reminder keep your pets vaccinated
Rabies is a public health issue.
Though it's not the norm, the incubation period for rabies can be as long as several years. And infected animals can spread the virus through saliva, not just through bites. (In fact, rabies has been transmitted just by *breathing* in a cave where a large number of infected bats lived.)
Given the dire consequences of infection, as well as the ease of transmission, how willing are you to let pets out of quarantine after three months, knowing that there's still a risk that they're infected? Alternatively, how willing are you to quarantine pets for years?
With pets that have been vaccinated, the risk of infection is very small in the first place; quarantine for a few months as an additional safeguard is, realistically, more than good enough. Unvaccinated pets are another story. I agree that it's a shame they have to die--but the blame lies entirely with their owners.
32 dogs, one cat, 22 skunks, one (non pet?) dog, one fox and some undocumented livestock were euthanized?
I wonder if N.M. has a law requiring pet owners to vaccinate their pets against rabies? If so apparently the people are not obeying the law and these animals have now had to have their lives sacrificed due to their ignorance and stupidity. What a shame! They ought to have a 500.00 fine imposed for anyone who doesn't have their pet vaccinated. These people should also have to pay the vets and the Health dept for having to do this unnecessary killing. For those of you who may think this is too much of a fine, well think if your loved one had become infected due to these people who failed to do the right thing. The law is there for a reason and that is to protect human and animal health.
Everyone has laws! We got 40,000 new ones just last year! Can you imagine what its going to be like in 5 years? Since a snowball is exponential while rolling downhill, the human population will have about 1 million new laws in 5 years. And this is a GLOBAL thing folks - The "United Nations" has been calling the shots in this country now since MR>Daddy Bush sat on the throne and opened up the pits of hell. And on a state level, GLOBAL mandates where put into place, while the real america slept on peacefully believing the people on the throne really LOVED this country! (I never bought in to either one of them! - and only Obama - until his mask fell off) Along comes baby bush, and POOF reality has been twisted quite conveniently for those who thrive on murder and squandering. It is a game to them, which they ultimately loose, but you certainly can not make them see that. Good luck to us all, and let's hope more people start connecting with their heart, and Ron Paul is voted in BY THE PEOPLE (not the media and the 7 people who OWN ALL OF IT). YOu have to seek him out to find out THE TRUTH.
Roberta, When humans decide to become responsible for their actions then we can eliminate all laws. But the human species isn't quite that smart!
So, 32 dogs were murdered because they didn't receive a STATE/County/City/whatever dictated vaccine???
When are they going to start murdering the children because they didn't receive their vaccines? Why don't you exterminate the whole entire city animal population which aren't pets???? rabies is carried by squirrels, birds, bats - so exterminate - scrub clean - the entire area! It wasn't your pet they killed! How incredibly heart breaking in this weird world we now find ourselves in when the Mind is not connected to its HEART!
Roberta, Apparently you need to take a course on the rabies virus. Birds do not get rabies. Most little critters like squirrels, chipmunks and rabbit don't usually get rabies as they would never survive an attack from a rabid animal. Only if they came in contact with the siliva on the ground of an animal who had rabies that had passed through the area. Chances are slim though on that. BTW, the vaccine is cheap, yet the cost to quarentine any animal that might have come in contact with the rabid one is very expensive and time consuming. Please do some homework regarding this issue so you can post comments that are educational instead of an uneducated opinion.
New Mexico does require rabies vaccines. My guess is the pets killed were not vaccinated or were not up to date on their vaccinations, very sad in any case. See this link for NM and your own state. ~ http://www.avma.org/advocacy/state/issues/rabies_vaccination.asp
For anyone with a few dollars to spare, here is an excellent way to help all our pets, by donating to the Rabies Challenge Fund. Please read and donate. ~ http://www.rabieschallengefund.org/
Thanks for the info. Hopefully Roberta will take the opportunity to read up on this issue.
damn illegals
@Roberta K. Starkey
It isn't murder, they were screwed as soon as the rabies got too far in their systems. There is no cure, there is no treatment, you want to see a rabid animal? It's the saddest and most pitiful thing you've ever seen, they are like someone with the Black Death in Medieval time, doomed to die, even if given as much treatment and help. Putting them out of misery makes the animals not suffered, also I find it hypocritical you wants to save dogs, but exterminate other animals which are also kept as pets and have important needs in the circle of life. Yeah it sucks that they have to put down, but it was the owners fault, not the wild animals.
I feel for these families that had to give up their pets to be euthanized. It must have broken their hearts.
However, most states have vaccination laws to help protect the general public. For example...I had an older cat that I "adopted" (found) as a stray. I had her vaccinated with a 2 year vaccination. As she got older and frailer I was reluctant to have her vaccinated, as the first vaccination had made her feel so punky. The vet explained to me that if she should nip or bite one of the aides as she was being handled, she would have to be quarantined at the local animal shelter for 14-21 days, and I would have to pay for her "food and lodging". She was on medication for a thyroid condition, and there was no assurance that her medication would be given as needed. So, we reached a middle of the road agreement...my vet gave her the "kitten" dose of the vaccine a few months apart, but at least she was vaccinated. I did understand that my vet would have had no choice but to turn Luna over to the county shelter...even though she was strictly a house cat once I adopted her into my household, and she had been vaccinated the first time..if I did not keep the rabies vaccination current.
Roberta = DRAMA QUEEN!!!!!!
ISIS, After you kitty recieved 3 to 4 rabies vaccine (to build up her ammunity) then you could have always opted to get her titer checked instead. This is done by drawing blood and having the levels of her antibodies reviewed. If they are high she won't need another vaccine but if it is low she would need a booster shot. You could also ask the vet to use a killed virus instead of a live virus in her vaccine. As your vet explained it is in everyones best interest including her to have the vaccine. She could always get out the door and be injured by another animal and then it would be either quarentine her or euthanise her. BTW, I do rescue work and I have had the shots myself and always update my vaccine. Never had a problem.
breaking news: authorities do what they're supposed to do.
Apparently those pet owner didn't do what they were supposed to do. So sad for the animals:(
.
Once rabies takes hold, and symptoms come about, the fatality rate is virtually 100%!
There are low-cost rabies clinics available if you cannot afford a visit to the vet.
For your pet's safety as well as for you and the rest of us, don't hesitate---VACCINATE!
it's not rabies, it was a zombie invasion.
Listen to Norskejente and Dallas Cheked, onegoldfish and M.R. 1895408: they speak FACTS and eminent sense!
Too bad people in this country are not being educated about rabies. Many animals have been killed because of ignorance. I used to resue a lot of kittens, socialize them and have them adopted out. Most of them were from feral cats, but became real mushes. One of them had bitten me (it was scared) and I went to the Hospital for a tetanus shot. Unfortunately I told them it was a kitten bite. After about 2 weeks the health department left nasty messages on my machine to hand over the kitten. When I finally got in touch with them, they insisted I tell them were the cat is for they have to "test" it. They did NOT tell me they would kill it. By that time about 8 weeks passed. I told them the cat has no rabies, if so, she would have been dead after 10 days. They actually asked me how I "knew". The same thing happened to a friend with her dog, they did not tell her they would kill the dog. If people would know this, more would make sure they vaccinate their pets, I'm sure. If any animal does not display rabies symptoms, they should not have to be killed. There are very, very few cases in this country of humans contracting rabies, but people should be educated about it, not lied to.
CDC: "Over the last 100 years, rabies in the United States has changed dramatically. More than 90% of all animal cases reported annually to CDC now occur in wildlife; before 1960 the majority were in domestic animals. The principal rabies hosts today are wild carnivores and bats.
The number of rabies-related human deaths in the United States has declined from more than 100 annually at the turn of the century to one or two per year in the 1990's. Modern day prophylaxis has proven nearly 100% successful.
In the United States, human fatalities associated with rabies occur in people who fail to seek medical assistance, usually because they were unaware of their exposure."
Justthefacts, The Health dept didn't lie to you they just didn't tell you. If they did tell everyone then no one would bring in the animal to be tested. The need to test these animals is for your own protection. Wonder if the kitten did have the rabies virus? You wouldn't be here right now. I had a stray cat that I had rescued that had been bitten by another animal and because it had no owner that we knew of I had to quarentine the animal in my home for 6 months in a seperate room. That was when the rabies had spread to NY yrs ago. All went well and he went to a new home but that was the deal with my vet and the health dept. But I never took the issue lightly as my health and the others animals would or could have been at risk. The Health dept is for your benefit and they are experts so next time listen to what they are telling you.
Norskejente,
did you even read my post? I was educated in Europe as a child about rabies. The healthdept was very nasty to me, and yes they lied to me , I asked them what they would do with the kitten and they told me they would not kill it. They LIED! If I would have listened to them that kitten would be dead for no reason and so would have been my friends dog. I am under no circumstances saying that there are no dangers, but people here tend to blow things out of proportion. Never seen such a hype in Europe, and I lived in the country. All I'm saying is people should educate themselfs and NOT rely on the healthdept to do so.
Justhefax, you did not state in your prior post that they told you they would not kill it, but said that they didn't tell you they would kill it. Maybe you misspoke but that is how I read it. As for blowing things out of proportion, well the life of a person is not a small matter nor is the unneeded death of a animal. I also disagree with you on the issue of not relying on the health dept. and their need to work with those who have been bitten. As I stated in my last post that I had rescued a cat that had been bitten. I worked with my vet and the health dept on a compromised that everyone agreed upon. The cat was quarentined for 6 months in a seperate room in my home and only myself was allowed to have contact with the cat, no one else and no other animals. It all worked out just fine. I don't want others reading this post thinking it is okay to ignore the health dept warnings because it could cost someone their life. Better to work with the health dept and your vet to come up with a solution that works for all. BTW, I was not trying to be disrespectful to you but just offering my insight on something I have experianced.
why don't we just exterminate all the anchor baby breeders and their living publicly supported squats and solve the budget crisis?