Rabies: Why your pet needs protection!
	January, 2000
	Definition: Rabies is a viral disease transmitted from animal to animal. All mammals, including humans, are susceptible to rabies. While wild animals account for over 90 percent of reported rabies cases in the U.S., more than half of the human exposure to rabies involves family pets.
	Transmission: The Rabies virus is most typically introduced through bite wounds. The disease can still pose a threat even after the infected animal dies. scavengers can contract the disease from dead infected animals. The virus attacks the central nervous system of the host animal and is almost always fatal.
	Carriers: Skunks, foxes, racoons and bats are the most common carriers of rabies virus. Because some these animals live where humans live, they pose even more of a threat to both humans and the animals they live with. Any mammal can contract and transmit the rabies virus.
	Symptoms: Generally appear within 10 - 60 days, with 14 - 28 days being most common. Once clinical signs appear, an animal usually survives for a week or less. Rabies can take one of two forms: "Furious" (which is the most common) rabies usually includes convulsions, muscular incoordination, extreme irritability, frenzied behavior, and foaming at the mouth. "Dumb" rabies is generally characterized by the animal becomming depressed and they may even hide. Paralysis of the jaw is rapidly followed by general paralysis. The early stage of both forms is marked by abrupt changes in behavior, such as incresed anxiety, depression, irritability or even more affectionate behavior. While infected wild animals may survive up to 6 months, and during that time infect many other animals, once clinical signs are observed, the animal usually dies within 2 to 7 days.
	Treatment: There is no treatment for an animal infected with the rabies virus. If a human is exposed to rabies, they must go through a series of shots to try to prevent the disease.
	Prevention: The best form of prevention is to have all animals vaccinated yearly against this deadly disease.
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