Pet Care Tips, Advice and Information

Prophylactic vaccination of dogs in communities where outbreaks of rabies exist is predicated on the reduction of the susceptibility of dogs in that area to the disease. If rabies vaccines, for example, are only a certain per cent effective, it could be assumed that, depending on the number of dogs vaccinated, the number of susceptible dogs would be decreased by that percent. The fewer the susceptible animals, the fewer the number of animals that would become infected and the less chance the disease has for spreading.

Read the rest of this entry »

Exact information on the prevalence of rabies in the United States is difficult to obtain. The Bureau of Animal Industry collected the available information on the incidence of rabies in the various States in 1938 and 1939 through a questionnaire submitted to the various State livestock sanitary officials and State health officers. It’s very probable that there were more cases of the disease in the United States than were reported by the officials with whom contacts were made. Table 1 gives the number of cases of rabies by States in the various species in the calendar years 1938 and 1939.

Read the rest of this entry »

It appears that in a few instances rabies virus has been found in the milk or udder tissue of lactating animals. This subject has been investigated by a number of workers in different parts of the world at various times. The great majority have failed to find the virus of rabies in the milk or in udder tissue. In 1934 the Bureau of Animal Industry conducted some experimental work on this point, since it is important to know whether milk can carry the infection.

Read the rest of this entry »

In rabies no constant or definite lesions are observed on postmortem examination. In fact the alterations are slight, variable, and almost absent at times, so that, unless there is a definite history of characteristic symptoms, a positive diagnosis cannot be made without recourse to microscopic examination or animal inoculations with material from the brain of the suspected animal. The most suggestive indication of rabies is the presence in the stomach of unusual bodies, such as stones, wood, earth, cloth, iron, and feathers. Frequently the stomach is empty of food but distended with material of this character. Its mucous membrane is frequently inflamed, and at times a marked reddening of the folds of the stomach, with or without erosions, is noticed. There may also be an inflammation of the covering of the brain and spinal cord as well as of the mucous lining of the mouth, throat, and respiratory tract. The feet of rabid dogs may present sores and bruises, denoting extensive travel during the period of roving. The heart and the surrounding membrane (pericardium) are often inflamed, but these and similar lesions are more frequently due to the condition of the animal before dying than to any specific alteration. The carcass undergoes rapid decomposition.

Rabies may appear in wildlife, since a wide variety of wild animals, already listed, and are susceptible. In certain parts of the country the appearance of the disease among wildlife has caused considerable loss of livestock, as well as presenting a human health hazard.

Read the rest of this entry »

When the disease attacks cats, they generally hide under the furniture or in some dark corner, and there they may die unobserved in a day or two. As a rule, however, the disease in cats implies danger for human beings. The rabid cat becomes very bellicose; from the dark corner where it has hidden it will suddenly attack animals or persons, especially children, jumping up to the face and inflicting severe wounds with its teeth and claws. In the violence of this attack it frequently bites itself. The rabid cat nearly loses its voice, being able only to mew hoarsely. Later it loses its appetite, has difficulty in swallowing, becomes emaciated, and succumbs within several days with symptoms of paralysis.

Both furious and dumb rabies are met with in cattle, the former being the more common. A sharp distinction cannot always be drawn between the two, however, as the furious type usually merges into the dumb owing to the paralysis that always appears before death. The typical cases of dumb rabies are those in which the paralysis occurs at the beginning of the attack and remains until the death of the animal. The disease first manifests itself by loss of appetite, stopping of the secretion of milk, great restlessness, anxiety, manifestations of fear, and a change in disposition. This preliminary stage is followed in a day or two by the stage of excitation or madness, which is indicated by increasing restlessness, loud bellowing withal peculiar change in the sound of the voice, violent butting with the head and pawing the ground, and an insane tendency to attack other animals, although the desire to bite is not so marked in cattle as in dogs. About the fourth day the animal usually becomes quieter, and the walk is stiff, unsteady, and swaying, showing that the final paralysis is coming on. Loss of flesh is very rapid, and even during the short course of the disease the animal becomes extremely emaciated. The temperature is never elevated but usually remains about normal or even subnormal. Finally, there is complete paralysis of the hindquarters; the animal is unable to rise and, except for irregular convulsive movements, lies in a comatose condition, and dies usually in 4 to 6 days after the appearance of the first symptoms.

It is of great importance to establish definitely the presence or absence of rabies infection in dogs that have bitten people, so that proper measures can be taken. Since the diagnosis of the disease can be based on both clinical and laboratory examinations, it inessential that the dog be kept under observation by a qualified veterinarian. Since rabies is a fatal disease and an affected animal will shortly die, the brain can then be subjected to laboratory examination for the presence of special changes, which are indicated by the presence of Negron bodies in certain portions. This valuable laboratory diagnostic procedure was developed through the work of an Italian scientist named Negron, who first called attention to the presence of these bodies in the brain of rabid dogs. Although the bodies are specific in the diagnosis of rabies, they may in certain cases be few in number, particularly if the animals have been destroyed in the early stages of the disease. For this reason it inadvisable to allow the disease to progress to its termination or to well-advanced stage so that the laboratory diagnosis can be conclusive.

Read the rest of this entry »

The virus of rabies is found in the saliva of the rabid dog. The presence, quantity, and virulence of the virus in the saliva may vary considerably in different animals and even in the same animal during the course of the disease. After death the viruses found in the brain and spinal cord. Evidence has been presented to show that the virus of rabies may be present in the animal someday before clinical symptoms are apparent. It has been demonstrated that the bite of a dog may be infectious at least 3 days before the dog manifests symptoms of rabies, and in one case in the Pasteur Institute at Athens, Greece, infection was found to be presenting the saliva 8 days before the dog showed signs of the disease. Exact information is not available on the regularity with which the virus appears in the saliva before animals show evidence of the disease, nor is there exact information on the persistence of the virus in the saliva of animals showing clinical symptoms.

Read the rest of this entry »

In dogs the first symptom of rabies may be a change in behaviour.The animal may become restless, somewhat nervous, and excitable. This condition may subside, to reappear within a short time. The dog’s disposition may change; a friendly dog may become irritable and snappy, whereas an ordinarily less amiable animal may become friendly. Later the animal may have a tendency to wander, and may disappear for a day or two, returning exhausted and considerably emaciated. The dog may seek dark corners and hide. At times characteristic change in the bark, or “change in voice,” is noted, which might best be described as a different tone.

Read the rest of this entry »