Six people treated for rabies after exposure to rabbid cows near Charleston, WV

[Ian David]

Biological Hazard - North-America - USA

2:14 AM - Show original item

GLIDE Number: BH-20080401-16102-USA
Date / time: 01/04/2008 06:11:02
Event: Biological Hazard
Area: North-America
Country: USA
State/County: State of West Virginia
City: Charleston
Number of Deads: None or unknow
Number of Injured: None or unknow
Damage level: Minor

Description:

Agriculture Commissioner Gus R. Douglass has quarantined a Hampshire County cattle farm after two cows tested positive for rabies.

A total of 6 people are undergoing rabies treatments as a precaution, although none showed any signs of the disease.

State Veterinarian Joe Starcher says 3 animals recently died on the farm but the 1st one was not tested for rabies.

Douglass said Friday {28 Mar 2008} that none of the 85 animals left in the herd will be allowed off the farm until the risk can be adequately assessed. Rabies is an infectious virus that attacks the nervous system and is usually fatal unless treated.

More:
http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/woalert_read.php?lang=eng&id=16102

Yes, I am sure we can trust the Loyal Bushies in charge of food safety to keep this meat out of our school lunch programs. :sarcasm:

[HysteryDiagnosis]

1. Could be much worse.....

http://www.cowswithguns.com/cowmovie.html

[marmar]

2. Vegetarianism is becoming all the more appealing to me these days....

n/t

[Gman]

3. The FDA says it's OK as long as you can drag the cow inside

while it's still alive, literally. As if BSE wasn't bad enough, now we have cattle with rabies.

[DemoTex]

4. Did any of you April Fools click on the link? I thought so.

RSOE Emergency and Disaster Information Service
Budapest, Hungary

[Ian David]

10. RSOE is a well-respected source as an aggregator of emergency information. n/t

[davidinalameda]

5. true story

http://www.hampshirereview.com/xnm/templates/general.asp?articleid=520&zoneid=73

West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture Gus R. Douglass quarantined a Hampshire County cattle farm Wednesday after testing earlier this week revealed two animals infected with rabies. Six people are undergoing rabies treatments as a precaution, although none of them showed any signs of the disease.


“We are concerned that other animals in the herd also may have contracted rabies – either from wild animals, or each other – and none of them will be allowed off the farm until we can determine what level of risk they pose,” said Commissioner Douglass.


He added that suspicious skunks had been spotted on the farm a few weeks ago, but had not been seen since. Skunks can carry and spread rabies for up to six months, while other infected animals, such as dogs and cats, are typically dead within 10 days of infection, according to West Virginia Department of Agriculture (WVDA) State Veterinarian Joe Starcher.


[doc03]

6. How do you get rabies from a cow, I never heard

of a cow biting anyone?

on edit: Cows have no upper front teeth.

[Nicole]

9. If a cow slobbers on you,

and you have an open wound, you can get rabies.

Rabies is carried in the saliva of infected animals.

[tabasco]

7. Skunks are wandering around this time of year.

Many of them ending up roadkill.

Poor little guys just out lookin' for a girlfriend, like Pepe LePeu.

[tuckessee]

8. Are "rabbid" cows kosher? n/t

[burrowowl]

11. Rabid Cows?

[ruiner4u]

12. Al-Cowida stikes again!!!!

[Jamastiene]

14. OMG,

:spray:

:rofl:

[uppityperson]

13. I learned something new today, cows can get rabies. That is a wild thought (cows)

I grew up in Rabid Cow Country and never heard of this. I wonder what that scene in "To Kill a Mockingbird" where Atticus kills the rabid dog would've been like if it'd been a cow?

For people in raccoon areas, beware. Baby raccoons can carry rabies for quite some time before showing any symptoms, and can be born with it.

Here's a few links, etc.

http://www.cdc.gov/MMWR/preview/mmwrhtml/00001268.htm

http://www.uhl.uiowa.edu/publications/archive/facts/rabies.xml

Epidemiology
Rabies is endemic in several wildlife populations throughout specific geographical areas. These animals act as the reservoir for the rabies virus and for its continued spread. The raccoon appears to be the natural reservoir in the south and southeast U.S., the fox and bat throughout the U.S., and the skunk in the Mississippi River basin and plains area. There are two primary forms of rabies: urban rabies, spread by nonimmunized domestic dogs and cats and rural rabies spread by the skunk, fox, raccoon, bat, and occasionally livestock. In the midwestern states there is a high incidence of cow rabies from exposure to skunks.

http://www.ext.vt.edu/news/periodicals/livestock/aps-06_10/aps-370.html

Rabies in Cattle a Continual Threat in Virginia

Livestock Update, October 2006

Dr. W. Dee Whittier, Extension Veterinarian, Cattle, VA-MD Regional College of Vet. Med.

Cattle are one of the most common domestic animals to contract deadly rabies putting cattle producers at an increased risk themselves. In a year 2000 report only cats exceeded cattle in the incidence of rabies cases in domestic animals. A large amount of effort goes into keeping pet owners safe from rabies through vaccination programs and educational efforts but those who routinely handle cattle are less often reminded of the threat of this disease which is almost always fata
(clip)

Symptoms of rabies in cattle vary considerably. The slobbering, aggressive cow is only one way that the disease presents. Initial signs of the disease may be quite mild with cattle appearing depressed, not eating and isolating themselves. As the disease progresses function of some body parts decreases. This might result in the inability to swallow so that saliva is drooled but it might also be weakness in a leg or legs or a drooping ear or head. Animal behavior may also be varied. A few rabid animals are aggressive but many are sleepy and constant bellowing or straining is also seen. Most animals affected by the disease die within a week from the time that signs are first seen.

[Ian David]

15. I bet dolphins can get rabies, too...

[Lance_Boyle]

16. Mmmmmmmmmm... foamy cud...