Public health personnel in Chapin, Connecticut (USA) are trying to find a woman bitten by a rabid cat. The woman was driving down South Brear Hill Road when she came across a cat. She picked the cat up from the road and told someone else who was there that the cat bit her. She then drove away, and the cat was subsequently identified as being rabid. Now a search is underway to find the woman so  she can be given post-exposure treatment.

This is clearly a high risk situation. As opposed to other public health alerts that try to find people who were in contact with a rabid animal on the off chance that they were bitten or otherwise exposed to the virus, this person was bitten and that creates a very high risk of rabies transmission.

The outcome is simple.

• If she gets rabies, she will almost certainly die.
• If she was exposed but gets post-exposure treatment soon (and completes the recommended course), she will almost certainly live.

It’s easy to see how this could happen. The woman probably found the cat looking injured or lost on the road, and wanted to help. However, that action, and failure to recognize the risk associated with the bite, have put her life at risk.

A few general rabies reminders:

• Avoid contact with wildlife or any animals you don’t know, especially if they seem sick or otherwise abnormal.
• If you are bitten, make sure the potential for rabies exposure is considered. The animal needs to be observed to see if it is rabid, or it needs to be tested. If the animal can’t be monitored or tested, you can’t rule out rabies and getting post-exposure treatment is the safest course of action.

More information about rabies can be found on the Worms & Germs Resources – Pets page.