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Contact:
Environmental Health Program
Isle of Wight Center
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Phone: 410-641-9559
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Hours: 8 am to 4:30 pm
After Hours: Call your local law enforcement agency or 911 |
If you have been bitten or scratched by an animal, or if you find a bat in the living area of your home, or your pet has been exposed to a rabies suspect animal such as raccoons, foxes, skunks, opossums, groundhogs, stray cats, contact our office for further assistance.
Rabies Exposures
Should your pet be involved in an altercation with a suspect rabid animal; such as raccoons, skunks, foxes, groundhogs, opossums and feral cats – DO NOT touch your pet without gloves or another protective barrier. Call your veterinarian and explain the situation and try to get your animal a booster rabies shot ASAP, preferably the same day. Also contact Environmental Health or Animal Control. After hours, contact your local police department or 410-632-1311 for further follow-up. If the attacking animal is available, we will try to send it for testing.
Confirmed Rabid Animals in Worcester
In 2009 we had an unusually high number of rabid animals in this county. Of the animals sent for testing, 52 (45 raccoons, 5 foxes, 1 opossum, 1 cat) were laboratory confirmed positive for rabies. In 2010, 26 animals (18 raccoons, 6 foxes, 2 cats) tested positive for rabies and 16 animals (11 raccoons, 2 skunks, 2 groundhogs, 1 cat) tested positive in 2011. Each year a number of other suspect rabies positive are unable to be tested largely due to escape.
Rabies Clinics
The Worcester County Health Department together with Worcester County Animal Control offers rabies clinics throughout the county. Call Animal Control at 410-632-1340 or our office at 410-352-3234 (or 410-641-9559 from Pocomoke) to ask about our upcoming clinics.
RABIES CLINICS FLYER
2012 clinics will be held at various locations in the county in March, April, May and October. The cost per pet is $5 for Worcester County residents and $10 per pet for non residents. Please bring proof of residency. Dogs must be on leashes and under the control of an adult. Cats and ferrets must be in carriers with air holes. If this is not your pet's first vaccination, please bring proof of previous vaccination.
Maryland and Worcester County laws require rabies vaccinations for all cats, dogs and ferrets four months and older.
General Information about Rabies
“YEP!! My pets all have their rabies shots, I think they were last done back in…???”
Does this sound like you, or somebody you know? Do you know where your pets’ rabies shot certificates are, or are they 'somewhere with all the other stuff'? Rabies is a deadly disease and once obvious symptoms appear, it is nearly always deadly. Dogs, cats, and ferrets over the age of 12 weeks are all required to get their rabies shot. Click on picture to read.
Until raccoon rabies spread to the general East Coast in the 1980s – a result of hunters unknowingly introducing sick raccoons from Florida, rabies was less of a threat to our pets and wildlife. However, the days of the ‘easy keeper barn cats’ are over. Stray cats have become the fourth highest carrier of rabies in the state of Maryland, a natural link between wildlife and people. Stray cats compete with raccoons for food, and cat food left outside for poor ‘Tomcat’ is likely also keeping ‘Rocky Raccoon’ fat and happy – and neither will let you know when they return to your doorstep rabid…
Worcester County Animal Control along with Worcester County Environmental Health, work to offer low-cost rabies shot clinics. Each year clinics are held at various locations in the county in an effort to reach as many of our pet owners as possible. The clinics are open to everyone; however, out-of-county residents pay a higher fee.
When the first rabies shot is given, your pet will start building its own protection against the rabies virus and will be considered protected 28 days later. This initial shot is only good for one year. The following year most pets will receive a booster shot which, if proof of previous rabies shot is given, will usually be good for a three-year period.
Bats and Rabies
 People usually know when they have been bitten by a bat. However, because bats have small teeth which may leave marks that are not easily seen, there are situations in which you should seek medical advice even in the absence of an obvious bite wound. For example, if you awaken and find a bat in your room, see a bat in the room of an unattended child, or see a bat near a mentally impaired or intoxicated person, contact our Office at 410-641-9559. After hours, contact your local police department or dial 410-632-1311 for further assistance.
For assistance with bat colonies not inside the living area of the home (attics, eves) contact Maryland Department of Natural Resources Wildlife and Heritage Service at www.dnr.md.us/wildlife. Search for "bats in houses." Or call 1-877-463-6497.
To view more information about bats and rabies, click the "Bats and Rabies Public Health Guide."
This information is provided by the Environmental Health Program. |
