Rhode Islanders Reminded About Rabies Prevention

With Rhode Islanders now spending more time outdoors, the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) is reminding people to take precautions to prevent rabies.

Rabies is a serious, fatal disease that is most often transmitted to humans through a bite or scratch from an infected animal. People can be exposed to the rabies virus when the saliva or central nervous system tissue of an infected animal comes into contact with an open wound or a mucous membrane, such as the eyes, nose, or mouth. A less common way to be exposed to rabies is for a pet owner to touch saliva from a high-risk animal, which has been deposited in a wound or the muzzle of the pet, resulting from an encounter between the pet and a wild animal.

Approximately 2,500 animal bites are reported in Rhode Island every year. The animals involved include dogs, cats, bats, rodents, and raccoons. Since March 12, nine animals have tested positive for rabies, the majority of them in Providence County.

Prevention

- Make sure your dog or cat is vaccinated against rabies.

- Avoid contact with wildlife and stray animals.

- Wear gloves to tend to pets with wounds of unknown origin, or immediately after encounters have occurred between the pet and either stray animals or wildlife.

- Make sure garbage is contained in a trash can with a secure lid to prevent attracting animals.

- Take steps to keep bats out of your home (info here https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/prevention/bats.html)

If you are bitten or scratched by an animal, or you wake up to a bat in your house:

- Wash all wounds and the area around the wound thoroughly with soap and water. (Washing for 5-10 minutes can destroy as much as 90% of the rabies virus.)

- Contact your doctor or hospital emergency department.

- Report the incident to RIDOH by submitting an electronic report form, available at health.ri.gov/rabies, or by calling RIDOH at 401-222-2577.

- Contact the animal control officer at your police department to report the incident. Provide the authorities with an accurate description of the animal (including distinctive markings, not just color and breed).

- Capture and isolate the animal if possible, but do not risk further injury to yourself or a pet if the animal is dangerous. For a bat, do not touch the bat, but try to secure it in a clear container with a lid. Keep children away from all animals involved.

If your pet is bitten or scratched by another animal:

- Try to find out what type of animal bit or scratched your pet. Do not touch the attacking animal.

- Wear rubber gloves and a hose to wash your pet's wounds. Do not touch your pet with bare hands. There may be saliva from the rabid animal still on your pet. - Call your pet's veterinarian immediately, even if the wound is superficial.

- Report the incident to RIDOH by submitting an electronic report form, available at health.ri.gov/rabies, or by calling RIDOH at 401-222-2577.

- Contact the animal control officer at your police department to report the incident.

This year, RIDOH has launched a new animal bites data dashboard. The dashboard includes information on reported animal bites in Rhode Island by year, counts for the administration of rabies vaccine by year, and the types of animals involved in biting incidents, among other data. The dashboard also includes mapping of where rabid animals have been reported throughout the state, in addition to information on Rhode Island's rabies testing program, with data on animal rabies testing. (https://health.ri.gov/data/rabies-data)

Learn more about rabies and animal bites at https://health.ri.gov/rabies.