For an almost invariably fatal disease, people sometimes take a surprisingly lax approach to rabies prevention. Much attention is paid to vaccination of pets (well, not by everyone, but it’s pretty good) – and that’s great, but sometimes people do a better job of vaccinating their dogs than themselves. It’s not because they care about
2012 US rabies recap
It’s that time of year again… time for the US annual rabies surveillance report in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (Dyer et al 2013).
Some highlights:
- There were 6162 cases of rabies diagnosed in animals in 2012. (This is a 2.1% increase from 2011, but I don’t put much stock
Rabid horse attacks owner
I’ve had the occasional debate with people about the public health risks of rabies in horses.
On one hand…
- Rabies is rare in horses.
- I’ve never seen a report of rabies transmission from a horse to a person.
On the other hand…
- Rabid horses have attacked (and killed people).
- It doesn’t matter whether the horse
Eastern Equine Encephalitis alert: Ontario
‘Tis the season…
Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) is a very serious disease that’s fortunately rare in Ontario, but when it happens, it’s bad news. It’s a viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes (similar to West Nile virus), and we often see a couple of horses affected every year, usually starting around now (late August) and extending
Rabies alert in Calgary
Alberta Health Services Medical Officer Dr. David Strong has urged the public to take precautions after a Calgary-area puppy was diagnosed with rabies. The five-month-old puppy came from Nunavut and had not been vaccinated against rabies. All those with whom the puppy had contact have been assessed and it doesn’t sound like anyone required
US Rabies update
ProMed-mail usually posts a monthly recap of rabies cases in the US. The most recent one (like most of them) doesn’t have anything too astounding, but it provides some good reminders.
Skunk attacks baby
A five-month-old baby that was outside in a car seat was bitten in the face several times by a skunk. The
Lepto risk factors and research musings
Studies that look at risk factors can be pretty variable in terms of what they tell you, the impact they have and how accurate they are.
Some findings are pretty logical, clear and indicate something that should be done.
- Smoking is a risk factor for [insert many diseases here], so to reduce the risk of
Rabies update
ProMed Mail‘s monthly US rabies update often contains some interesting cases, and the last one is no exception.
A llama in Georgia became aggressive, started biting itself and was spitting at one of its caretakers. A spitting llama certainly doesn’t mean rabies (I have dodged enough llama spitballs to know that) but any sudden
To lepto or not to lepto…
Life with Merlin has been busy but going pretty well. There’s been no pee on the floor in the past 48 hours so we’re making progress. Speaking of pee (which, sadly, I seem to do a lot), we need to decide about leptospirosis vaccination for Merlin.
A good preventive medicine program is important for every pet.
Eastern Equine encephalitis alert: Ontario
If I was reincarnated as a mosquito, I’d want to live where I do now (convenient, eh?). I live in the country surrounded by areas of "protected wetland," which, in many cases, is a fancy word for swamp. I try to avoid mosquitoes, but getting bitten is a regular (daily) event. As I was getting swarmed