The Florida Department of Health in Santa RosaCounty issued a rabies alert for the North Highway 87 area around Coldwater Church Road. This is in response to a cat that tested positive for rabies on December 15. The rabies alert will be in effect for the next 60 days. Because rabies can spread easily among wild animals, the risk of exposure cannot be confined to a single area. All residents should take precautions to avoid contact with wild animals or unfamiliar domestic animals.
All residents and visitors in Santa RosaCounty should be aware that rabies is present in the wild animal population and domestic animals are at risk if not vaccinated. The public is asked to maintain a heightened awareness that rabies is active in Santa RosaCounty. Alerts are designed to increase awareness to the public, but they should not get a false sense of security to areas that have not been named as under an alert.
An animal with rabies could infect other wild or domestic animals that have not been vaccinated against rabies. All domestic animals should be vaccinated against rabies and all wildlife contact should be avoided, particularly raccoons, bats, foxes, skunks, otters, bobcats and coyotes. Rabies is a disease of the nervous system and is fatal to warm blooded animals and humans. The only treatment for human exposure to rabies is rabies specific immune globulin and rabies immunization. Appropriate treatment started soon after the exposure, will protect an exposed person from the disease.
Residents and visitors are advised to take the following precautions:
- Keep rabies vaccinations up to date for all pets.
- Keep your pets under direct supervision so they do not come in contact with wild animals. If your pet is bitten by a wild animal, seek veterinary assistance for the animal immediately and contact Santa Rosa County Animal Services at 983-4680.
- Call your local animal control agency to remove any stray animals from your neighborhood.
- Do not handle, feed, or unintentionally attract wild animals with open garbage cans or litter.
- Never adopt wild animals or bring them into your home.
- Teach children never to handle unfamiliar animals, wild or domestic, even if they appear friendly.
- Prevent bats from entering living quarters or occupied spaces in homes, churches, schools, and other similar areas, where they might come in contact with people and pets.
- Persons who have been bitten or scratched by wild or domestic animals should seek medical attention and report the injury to the Florida Department of Health in Santa RosaCounty at 983-5200, ext. 140.
For further information on rabies, go to http://www.floridahealth.gov/diseases-and-conditions/rabies/index.html or call the Florida Department of Health in Santa RosaCounty at 983-5200, or Santa Rosa Animal Services at 983-4680.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: HEALTH OFFICIALS ISSUE RABIES ALERT in SRC