‘If left untreated it is always fatal’: How to tell if an animal has rabies

TOPEKA (KSNT) – If you see an animal behaving strangely, leaving it alone could save you from coming into contact with a potentially fatal illness.

Both state and federal health officials say the disease known as rabies is something that humans and their pets should avoid due to the harmful impacts it can have. The virus that eventually leads to the fatal disease targets mammals and is usually transmitted through a bite from an infected subject.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) say those afflicted by rabies usually display strange symptoms such as:

Aggressive behavior

Attacking without provocation

Lethargic

Walking in a circle

Confused

Drunk-like

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say animals with rabies can act hostile towards other animals or humans and usually foam or drool excessively from their mouths. More commonly though, animals infected with rabies move slowly or act tame, an indication that something is wrong.

Rabies is transmitted to other animals through an infected animal’s saliva which usually occurs when the infected animal bites an uninfected animal or person. Rabies can also be transferred when infectious material from a rabid animal gets into another animal or human’s eyes, nose, mouth or a wound. The only way to test if an animal has contracted rabies is to euthanize them and test cells gathered from the brainstem, according to the USDA.

“Rabies is a serious public health concern because if left untreated it is always fatal. Costs associated with detection, prevention and control of rabies exceeds $300 million annually.”

USDA statement

Rabies, if left untreated, is 100% fatal to the animals or humans it infects, according to the USDA. However, vaccines for rabies do exist to protect people and their pets and/or livestock from infection. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that rabies leads to around 59,000 human deaths per year in more than 150 countries around the world with the majority of cases coming from Africa and Asia.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) recommends taking a Rabies Exposure Assessment or call their Epidemiology hotline at 877-427-7317 if you have any questions about rabies. You can also visit the KDHE’s website here for more information about rabies in Kansas.