RABIES
AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION…

Dr. Yvonne M. Bellay
State Humane Officer/Epidemiologist

By now, most of us have received that inevitable piece of mail, the tax statement. Along with it is the notice that it is time to renew dog licenses. Wisconsin law requires that all dogs five months and older must be vaccinated for rabies and licensed. Vaccination and licensing of cats is not mandated by state law, but is required by many municipalities through local ordinances.

Regardless of the legal requirements, all dogs and cats should be kept current on rabies vaccinations. This recommendation includes cats that may not go outside of the house. Since the 1940’s the number of human rabies cases in the U.S. has decreased from an average of 50 cases per year to an average of two cases per year currently. This dramatic decrease is due to increased vaccination of dogs and cats, licensing requirements, leash laws and animal control programs.

Obviously, vaccinating dogs and cats against rabies protects both the pets and people. Too often owners of house cats do not keep their animals current on rabies vaccinations because of a mistaken idea that there is no need if the cat does not go outside. Unfortunately, this is not true. House cats may bite people, and it is quite common for house cats to be exposed to bats inside the house. Unfortunately, some of these bats are infected with rabies. (Wisconsin had 26 rabid bats reported in 2005).

Because rabies is a serious public health risk, for purposes of rabies control, dogs and cats that are not current on their vaccinations are treated differently than those that are current. For example, a dog or cat that bites someone and is not current on its rabies vaccination must be observed at an isolation facility for 10 days at the owner’s expense. Also, unvaccinated dogs and cats exposed to known or suspected rabid animals must be placed under a six-month home quarantine versus a sixty-day home quarantine for animals that are current on their vaccination.

So remember, there are many important reasons to keep your pets current on rabies vaccinations.