Rabies Scare!

[Neal/CO]

Living out west I have never really worried about rabies. It is very very rare in animals here. I just got back Monday morning from vacation in North Carolina. I spent eight days watching my kids like a hawk, worring about rip tides and sharks. When we finally got back to my sisters house in Raleigh I let my guard down thinking they were totally safe! A half hour before we were to leave for the airport my six year old Tommy was bitten by a cat. The wound was very superficial and you could hardly see it. Tuesday my mother called and said that the NC disease control had just issued an alert for rabid cats in the Cary area. Since my son is only six and my neice is only three and they both gave different discriptions of the cat, finding the right one would be very difficult. THe Colorado diseace control office insisted that I take Tommy to the hospital last night and start the series of shots. Poor little guy got five shots last night and is very sore today. He will be getting a series of shots for the next month. He is the first documented case of treatment ever at Aurora medical center!!

If you or your kids are ever bitten by any animal don't waste time!!! I waited two days to take him to the hospital, which was very stupid. Rabies can show symptoms in only 5-10 days and once the person shows symptoms it is 100% fatal! Also never assume the cut or scratch is to small to worry about! Tommys cut was so small you could barely see it! All it takes is a microscopic opening and the virus can infect you. I know this is not fishing related, but I made a huge mistake that I hope no one else will make!!

By the way, Is there a more worthless animal in the world than a cat?

[Troutaholic]

Sorry to hear about your son, Tommy!! %#%%@#% cats!

But you are wrong about cats.......marinate in a soy sauce/ginger mixture overnight and grill the next day.....yummy!!!

[FJH1]

Bummer, better safe than sorry. Glad he's in treatment.

Best Regards,

FJH

[Steve CO]

Neal,
First, I really do feel for you and you son. You have done the right thing in getting medical treatment quickly. Rabies shots are no joke but the disease is obviously far worse. Our thoughts are with both of you. Something like this is very scary. Having been bitten by a roaming dog as a kid, I know the fright I went through thinking about rabies and such. It was very traumatic.

On the other side of the ledger, as a veternarian, I have to weigh in on this one. Just like you don't blame the gun for the wielder, don't blame the animal for something it can't control. Cats are no more evil than the dog or skunk or raccoon that can become infected by rabies (By the way, the major national concern for rabies these days is raccoons). As far as cats are concerned, they are wonderful animals in their own right, but they ARE animals. They are true to their nature. Many people don't like cats because they are independent and much more resistant to "training" to our likes and dislikes compared with dogs. I have loved my cats and my dogs, each offering something different. I guess my point is that if this was a feral cat, it is not the cat's fault, anymore than being a feral dog is the dog's fault. Blame people who allow animals to breed unrestricted and then don't want to deal with them, letting them go wild. Far more harm is done by feral dogs than cats (for example, significant injury is done by wild dog packs, including deaths, but human injury by feral cats is pretty rare).

My bottom line is that we must take animals as they are. There will always be dog lovers and cat lovers and many who love both. Your anger toward the animal that bit your son is understandable... I would feel no different, I'm sure. But don't paint the whole species with the same brush, anymore than condemning all dogs for the characteristics of some vicious pit bulls.

All the best for your family and your son and I'm still looking forward to meeting and fishing with you sometime soon.
Steve

[Neal/CO]

Thanks Steve! I was just joking about the cats. True I am a dog person, but it could of just as easily been a dog that bit him. The state official told my wife that because he was bit in the south where there are lots of Racoons the risk was to great to do nothing!

Thank God they don't give the shots in the stomach anymore!! Tommy is very sore and has a low grade fever today, but the doctor said that was to be expected.

[Toolman]

Troutaholic,
You are just plain sick...you should use lemon/garlic for marinade!!
The only animal that I know that will continually get in your way, until you are forced to "punt" them out of the way, and then get right back in your way again! Amazing how they can land on their feet though!
Tim

[Steve CO]

Neal
Whatever the source (here in the west it could be bats), rabies is a VERY scary disease. As veterinarians, we are probably more used to thinking about it and most of us who work with animals that might be infected are vaccinated. For a six-year-old, this has got to be incredibly frightening. I recall being more afraid of the shots than the disease (I was probably 9 or 10 and had read books on Pasteur and rabies which probably made things worse). With lots of love (and ice cream?), he will get over it.

On the fishing front, I know you are pretty tied up with the family, but my offer to get out still stands. I don't know what your schedule is like during the summer, but the lake by my new house is an very good bass fishery, with an occasional walleye and a rare tiger musky. If you are up in the Fort Collins area, we could catch a few hours sometime. You can E-mail me at sbenj@colostate.edu. If not before, I hope we hook up at the Glendo get-together this year.
Steve

[JohnF]

Neal,

First, a get well soon to your son from me.

When I was a young'n I got bit by a stray dog. I went through the first series of shots in the stomach before the dog was caught and found to not have rabies. I have no recollection of this but what I do have is the story as told from my mothers point of view. So:

A pat on the back and a get well soon to you and your wife as well.

John

[Neal/CO]

Thanks for the well wishs guys!!!

Steve you mentioned a vaccination? Can humans be vaccinated for rabies?

[Toolman]

Neal/Co,
Now I feel like a DA for posting the comment about cats. I hope your son is OK. I know hoe I would feel if this happened to either of my boys. Keep us posted, if you will, on how he is doing. (I still don't like cats).
Tim

[What's Up Dock?]

I was bit by a racoon when I was 20 and went through the shots. Rest assured, the first ones where they put the needle in the wound is by far the worst. My hand swelled up with the vaccine to twice its normal size. After that, they were just a regular shot in the arm every few days (day 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32). If the little guy made it through the first, it only gets better. Definately not worth taking the risk. best wishes to him and the rest of your family!

[vetspet(ind)]

good reply steve...i think they had over 300 rabies cases in racoons in pennsylvania last yr...they crossed over the ohio line a couple yrs ago and now indiana is bracing for the racoon strain of rabies...one other detail to remember is if you ever get bitten by an unknown (or known) animal wash the wound immediatly as the virus can be washed away if done quickly....the virus travels along nerves so a bite on a finger will take longer to reach the brain than a bite on the ear or head...the closer to the head the sooner one must start vaccines and the higher the risk that vaccines may not work in time...one other disease that seems to be on the upswing is leptospirosis...purdue veterinary school gets over 25 confirmed cases a yr and this is probably the tip of the iceberg....this one goes to humans also...there are new strains of lepto that the old strains in dog vaccines do not cross protect....fort dodge has been doing the most work on updating dog vaccines for the lepto strains...steve

[Steve CO]

Yes. Persons who are at high risk of contacting rabid animals can get vaccinated, for example, veterinarians and veterinary students in our teaching hospital here at Colorado State (pathologists like me particularly). It is not something that is routine for the general population.

[Neal/CO]

Thanks guys for the info!! It is nice to have two vets on this board to answer these questions!

The only thing I did do right, is wash the wound quickly and put neosporin on it.

[Steve CO]

The neopsporin was a good idea to prevent bacterial infection and should be done for any wound. Unfortunately it wouldn't do anything to a virus.