Animal attacks highlight rabies risk
EPHRATA — It’s been an unusually bad week for animal attacks in Grant County, with several unfortunate residents forced to seek preventive treatment for rabies.
According to Jon Ness, environmental health manager for the Grant County Health District, there were four reported animal attacks of Grant County residents, with one very likely case of rabies.
The oddest case involved a county resident vacationing in central Arizona who was attacked by a fox on Jan. 2. Ness said the man managed to strangle the fox and claims was not bitten in the struggle.
“It’s not clear how he came in contact with the fox,” Ness said. “The fox almost certainly had rabies.”
The man, who did not have health insurance, reportedly sought treatment for the attack in Mexico anyway after stating he was unable to pay for treatment, Ness said. The Maricopa County Health Department informed Grant County on Monday about the attack after the man returned home in order to follow up on the case.
Grant County health officials are concerned the man, whose name and location were not disclosed, did not receive a complete treatment in Mexico.
Immediate treatment for rabies involves a series of shots with immunoglobulin — basically an antibody specifically targeted against the rabies virus — in the area of the bite followed by four shots of the rabies vaccine over two weeks.
“We’ve been told the man was not given the immunoglobulin shots, only the vaccine,” said County Health Officer Alexander Brzezny. “And we’re aware of the difficulty this can pose.”
Brzezny said there aren’t any public funds available to pay for rabies treatment, but no hospital will turn anyone away who has been bitten by a rabid animal or an animal they suspect was rabid. Hunters and taxidermists are regularly encouraged to get the rabies vaccine, Brzezny said.
The rabies virus spreads from nerve ending to nerve ending, Brzezny explained, and the amount of time it takes to affect the brain — which it then destroys — depends on where the victim was bitten.
“It takes about seven to 14 days to get to the brain if bitten on the hand,” he said, citing European studies.
Without proper treatment, rabies is 100 percent fatal in animals and humans. An alternative treatment for people beginning to show rabies symptoms, involving putting the patient in an induced coma for roughly a week and administering antiviral drugs, has proven effective but also has a very low survival rate.
Ness said two other cases involved dog bites in Grant County. One woman was attacked by an unknown dog in her yard, and has begun treatment. The fourth case involved the resident of another county, and Ness said that county has been informed so they can follow up.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, full post-exposure treatment for rabies “typically exceeds $3,000.”
Charles H. Featherstone can be reached via email at countygvt@columbiabasinherald.com.