Rabies Control

Rabies is a fatal, viral disease that is easily prevented through inoculation of pets and avoiding and reporting rabies suspected animals.

Rabies vaccinations are available at the shelter Monday through Friday 11-4 for $5.00. This is a one year shots and no appointment is necessary. All dogs, cats and ferrets over 4 months old are required by the Warren County Animal Control Ordinance to have a current rabies vaccination. 

  • Report all bites to humans and animals to Animal Control
  • Never handle, feed or attract raccoons, skunks, fox or bats.
  • Keep your household scrapes in tight fitting containers.
  • Report all wildlife that displays suspicious, vicious or abnormal behavior, such as a raccoon or fox approaching you or your pets in the daytime.
  • Learn about normal wildlife behaviors.
  • Keep your pets up-to-date on their rabies vaccines.
  • All dogs, cats and ferrets 4 months of age or older must be kept current on the rabies vaccine and be wearing the rabies tag. 

Citizens who have 10 or more dogs, cats or ferrets needing a rabies vaccination can set up an appointment to have a certified rabies vaccinator come to their property. The animals do not have to belong to the same person, just need to be at the same location in the county. Please call the shelter for more details, 252-257-6137.

Rabies Exposures

  • Fighting with a wild animal such as a raccoon, skunk, fox, etc
  • Fighting with a stray animal such as a dog or cat
  • Fighting with an animal that may not be current on rabies vaccinations
  • Comes in contact with a bat 

In these cases, your pet must be examined within 96 hours by a veterinarian to receive wound care and if its rabies vaccination is current, a booster. If the pet does not receive a rabies booster within 96 hours, the pet will be treated as unvaccinated. If the pet is unvaccinated and the wild or stray animal is confirmed rabies positive or unavailable for testing, the pet must be confined for 4-6 months which is determined by the local Health Director, at a veterinary facility or be euthanized. 

Bats

Rabid bats have been documented in all 49 continental states. Hawaii is rabies-free. Bats are increasingly implicated as important wildlife reservoirs for variants of rabies virus transmitted to humans.

Recent date suggest that transmission of rabies virus can occur from minor, seemingly unimportant, or unrecognized bites from bats. Human and domestic animal contact with bats should be minimized, and bats should never be handled by untrained and unvaccinated persons or be kept as pets.

In all instances of potential human exposures involving bats, the bat in question should be safely collected, if possible, and submitted for rabies diagnosis. Rabies postexposure prophylaxis is recommended for all persons with bite, scratch, or mucous membrane exposure to a bat, unless the bat is available for testing and is negative for evidence of rabies.

Postexposure prophylaxis should be considered when direct contact between a human and a bat has occurred, unless the exposed person can be certain a bite, scratch, or mucous membrane exposure did not occur. 

In instances in which a bat is found indoors and there is no history of bat-human contact, the likely effectiveness of postexposure prophylaxis must be balanced against the low risk such exposures appear to be present. Postexposure prophylaxis can be considered for persons who were in the same room as the bat and who might be unaware that a bite or direct contact had occurred (e.g., a sleeping person awakens to find a bat in the room or an adult witnesses a bat in the room with a previously unattended child, mentally disabled person, or intoxicated person) and rabies cannot be ruled out by testing the bat. Postexposure prophylaxis would not e warranted for other household members.

(Information provided by the CDC)