Animal Encounters
About Rabies
Rabies is a preventable viral disease of mammals most often transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal. The vast majority of rabies cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) each year occur in wild animals like raccoons, skunks, bats, and foxes. Domestic animals account for less than 10% of the reported rabies cases, with cats, cattle, and dogs most often reported rabid.
Rabies virus infects the central nervous system, causing encephalopathy and ultimately death. Early symptoms of rabies in humans are nonspecific, consisting of fever, headache, and general malaise. As the disease progresses, neurological symptoms appear and may include insomnia, anxiety, confusion, slight or partial paralysis, excitation, hallucinations, agitation, hyper-salivation, difficulty swallowing, and hydrophobia (fear of water). Death usually occurs within days of the onset of symptoms.
Public health importance of rabies
Over the last 100 years, rabies in the United States has changed dramatically. More than 90% of all animal cases reported annually to CDC now occur in wildlife; before 1960 the majority of cases were in domestic animals. The principal rabies hosts today are wild carnivores and bats. The number of rabies-related human deaths in the United States has declined from more than 100 annually at the turn of the century to one or two per year in the 1990's. Modern day prophylaxis has proven nearly 100% successful. In the United States, human fatalities associated with rabies occur in people who fail to seek medical assistance, usually because they were unaware of their exposure.
Click here for more information on Animal bites and Rabies exposure
Click here for more information on Rabies and Rabies Control in West Virginia
Reporting animal encounters
(Bites, Scratches, and Contact with Saliva or Blood)
In West Virginia animal encounters are reportable to the Local Health Department with-in 24 hours of the contact occurring. They can be reported using this form
When reporting an animal encounter the following information is needed:
- Time and Date of contact
- Victim’s Name, Address, and Phone (and Parent/Guardian if < 18)
- Victim’s Date of Birth
- Location and Severity of Bite or Scratch
- Type of Animal
- Is Animal a Pet, Stray, or Wild
- Contact information for animal owner