ANIMAL BITE MANAGEMENT

For purposes of evaluating animal bites and deciding on the administration of post-exposure rabies therapy, the biting animals can be broken into 5 groups.

1. Dogs & Cats
2. Wild Carnivores (fox, skunk, raccoon, bobcat)
3. Bats
4. Rodents and Hare
5. Opossums

Each group is unique and should be examined separately

Dogs & Cats

Dogs And Cats are the ONLY animals that should be held for observation following a bite. Observation is important because of the length of time that a virus may be excreted in the saliva prior to the onset of symptoms. It is known that dog and cats may excrete rabies up to (5) five days prior to symptoms. The (10) ten days observation period is twice the predicted time allowing 100% margin of safety. If no symptoms occur within these (10) ten days, one can be assured there were no shedding of the rabies virus.

Wild Carnivores

Unlike dog and cats, the time that the rabies virus may be excreted in the saliva can not be determined. Therefore no animal in this group should be held for observation. Animals in this group should be captured, euthanized and sent for laboratory testing for rabies diagnosis.

Bats

Bats are common in Catawba County and throughout North Carolina primarily during spring, summer and fall months. All bats in North Carolina are insectivorous (insect eating) and most migrate into or through our state during the spring and fall. Few bats may be found in the wintery months. Bats, like carnivores, excrete the rabies virus in the saliva for an undetermined length of time. Insectivorous do not appear to be true carriers of the rabies virus and no salivary gland isolate has been obtained without concurrent presence of the virus in the brain.

Rabies in insectivorous bats has been transmitted to man by bites in the U.S. as well as other countries. Natural transmission of rabies from insectivorous bats to terrestrial animals by biting has not been well documented. Experimental transmission of rabies from bats to other susceptible animals by biting has proven difficult. Rabid bats are a definite concern to the community and an emphasis should be made to the public NOT TO PICK UP OR HANDLE ANY BAT.

Rodents and Hares

Humane exposure to the rabies virus from a rodent or hare is extremely unlikely. Rodents and Hares are not considered vectors of rabies even in their natural state. Animals in the Rodent group are somewhat refectory to rabies infection, and rodents that are infected generally excrete no virus in the saliva or such low amounts that transmission is not likely to occur. In any case capture, euthanization and examination should be considered.

U.S. Public Health Services made the following statement in 1984:

"Rodents such as squirrels, hamsters, guinea pigs, gerbils, chipmunks, rats, and mice including Rodents and rabbits are rarely found to be infected with rabies and have not been known to cause rabies in humans."

Opossums

Opossums are common in Catawba County and in North Carolina and each year numbers of people receive bites from these animals. Opossums are capable of being infected with the rabies virus and of transmitting it through the saliva. However, opossums are not likely to transmit the rabies virus to a human or other animals. Experiments have shown that it takes from 50,000 to 70,00 times more rabies virus to infect an opossum than to infect a dog or fox. Such high levels of virus are not likely to exist in nature, curbing the possibility that an opossum would become infectious.
Resources from NC Dept. of Human Resources, Management of Animal Bites

• Policy for Dealing with the Confinement of Dogs and Cats After They Have Bitten a Human Being(PDF)
• Policy for Dealing with Animals Exposed to Rabies (PDF)
  
• Bite Ordinance (PDF)
  
• Entire Animal Control Ordinance (PDF)