Press Release: For Immediate Release

Date: September 27, 2006

Contact Person: Chip Kraus, 781-8039, ext 172

Taking the Bite Out of Rabies

The Barren River District Health Department would like to remind everyone to get your pets vaccinated against rabies. It is current State Law that all dogs, cats, and ferrets must get vaccinated. Rabies is a dangerous viral infection that is nearly always fatal once symptoms appear, and any mammal, including humans, can get rabies. Fortunately, rabies is often preventable by vaccinating pets and livestock.

The rabies virus is transmitted through an infected animal's saliva into a bite or a break in the skin. If you have been bitten, scratched, or otherwise exposed to an animal that may be rabid, then wash the wound right away with soap and water for ten minutes. Call your doctor or go to a hospital emergency room depending on the severity of the wound. Animal bites must be reported to the local health department within 12 hours of the incident. This allows health department personnel to either quarantine the animal or have it tested.

Please contact your local health department for more information about rabies or visit our website at www.barrenriverhealth.org or contact your local veterinarian.