21 people treated for rabies exposure after woman rescues abandoned baby raccoon

[sl8]

From https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/raccoon-rabies-weld-county-baby-rescue-abandoned-a8435176.html

21 people treated for rabies exposure after woman rescues abandoned baby raccoon

'It is very important that people not touch or go near wild animals'


More than 20 people needed treatment after a raccoon was found to have rabies ( iStock )

Kimberley Richards | New York
4 hours ago

Twenty-one people are being treated for rabies exposure in what’s been described as the largest such case seen in a Colorado county

A woman who lives in the southern part of Weld County, Colorado found a baby racoon on her property and took the animal into her home after she believed the animal had been abandoned by its mother, a Weld County Department of Health and Environment press release stated.

According to Colorado’s Greeley Tribune, the woman then apparently had 20 visitors to her home, all who reportedly expressed interest in seeing the baby raccoon.

“This was a baby wild animal, so I think there was some heightened interest to seeing a baby animal in the home,” Rachel Freeman, the health department’s supervisor, told the newspaper.

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More at link.

[BigmanPigman]

1. But they're so cute!

[TexasProgresive]

2. Were these people bitten by the raccoon? You don't get rabies by seeing or even touching a

rabid animal- you must be bitten.

[FSogol]

3. or scratched. n/t

[TexasProgresive]

4. Only if there is saliva containing the virus on the claws.

How long can the rabies virus live outside the host?

When it comes to the rabies virus, it cannot live outside the body of the vector host for more than a few seconds. The moment the virus is put out of the salivary glands of the animal, the virus will die. Rabies is affected by temperature and moisture similar to other viruses.

Aerosol transmission is exceptionally rare, though possible. Contamination of this type is almost exclusive to laboratory workers and people who handle infected animals.

Rabies can not live independently in an aerosolized state and must be passed through contaminated fluids ejected into the air. An infected person or animal would have to spray a susceptible area (eyes, nose, open wound, etc.) with contaminated fluid thus passing the virus.

However, in cases where an animal has succumbed to the rabies virus, the virus can continue to live in the animal for nearly 48 hours after death. That is why it is prudent not to touch dead animals that you find in the wild. Common animals that carry this virus include raccoons, groundhogs, opossums, bats and skunks.

http://qa.answers.com/Q/How_long_can_the_rabies_virus_live_outside_the_host

[FSogol]

6. They always err on the side of caution. No cure for rabies. n/t

[kentuck]

5. Wow!

i got three young raccoons under my back porch. They are destructive and messy. But, cute!

[Blue_true]

7. It breaks your heart to see or hear a lost wild animal, but unless you can get an expert out to care

for it, you have to leave it to it's fate.

[virgogal]

8. I had the shots and they really aren't that bad.

[Raine]

9. I have a whole family of 4-5 raccoons

Last edited Sat Jul 7, 2018, 02:42 AM - Edit history (1)

living in my backyard, they're awfully cute but I stay clear of them.