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Home | Management of Wildlife Disease | Rabies Rabies
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 unvaccinated animals that are exposed to the virus and is invariably fatal. Over the past 30 years, rabies management has grown in complexity in the United States, as wild animals, including skunks, raccoons, foxes, coyotes, and bats, have replaced the domestic dog as the primary reservoir for the disease. In fact, greater than 90% of all animal cases reported annually to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now occur in wildlife (Krebs et al. 2000). The majority of rabies cases reported to occur in raccoons, skunks, and bats. The cost of living with rabies in America is high and growing, exceeding $300 million per year. Although rabies vaccinations have been available for domestic animals for many years, until recently no such preventive measure existed to control rabies in wildlife. What is Rabies?Rabies is a bullet-shaped virus that affects the central nervous system of mammals, including humans. Rabies is passed along through saliva when an infected animal bites an uninfected animal. The virus then migrates to the brain where it begins replicating. From the brain, the virus then begins to infect other tissues, including the salivary glands, where the virus can then be passed to another animal. As the virus replicates in the brain, the animal's behavior changes and begins to show signs of rabies such as aggression or staggering. Rabies PreventionIf rabies strains transmitted by wildlife are not prevented from spreading to new areas of the United States, the health threats and costs associated with rabies are expected to increase substantially as broader geographic areas of the country are affected. The primary means of controlling wildlife rabies in the United States has been through the use of oral rabies vaccination (ORV) (Slate et al. 2003). Raboral V-RGŪ is currently the only effective oral vaccine licensed for use in free-ranging raccoons, gray foxes, and coyotes in the United States. Baits are distributed by airplanes in rural areas and by hand in urban and suburban areas. There have been nearly 48 million doses of Raboral V-RGŪ ORV baits distributed in the United States and Canada, and 63 million doses have been dispersed worldwide. In 2003 alone, over 10,000,000 baits were distributed. Though the ORV program has been used successfully for nearly 15 years, a number of issues regarding its safety and efficacy have not been fully addressed. For example, improved vaccination rates in target populations, effects on non-target populations, potential for vaccinated animals to shed recombinant vaccinia virus, optimal barrier widths for vaccination, more efficient delivery systems, and on alternative vaccines. Federal scientists are addressing these issues by conducting field studies on raccoons, skunks, and gray fox, and experimental pen studies on a number of species. Summary above taken from: WILDLIFE SERVICES. National Rabies Management Program http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ws/rabies/index.html MCLEAN, R. G., L. CLARK, M. R. DUNBAR, K. C. VERCAUTEREN, AND T. A. CAMPBELL. 2005. Wildlife disease research at the APHIS National Wildlife Research Center. Pages 123-135 in Proceedings of the One Hundred and Eighth Annual Meeting of the United States Animal Health Association. Literature CitedSLATE D., D. LEIN, C. RUPPRECHT, R. CHIPMAN. 2003. Cooperative wildlife rabies control: realities and wrinkles. USAHA Scientific Session 107th Annual Meeting. Rabies LinksRabies Information from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Compendium of Animal Rabies Prevention and Control, 2002a WEB Sites & Internet Sources Useful to Veterinarians & Cattlemen Wildlife and Disease--Public Health Concerns CDC Travelers Health Information |
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Content: Laurie Paulik Last updated:
02/05/08 |
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