Five Must Know Facts About Rabies: and how to keep your family safe.

Most are unaware that rabies is a prevalent and deadly disease in the US. However, it is easily preventable. In the US, rabies is most commonly transmitted to pets by wild animals such as bats, raccoons, skunks, and foxes. In other countries, the virus is commonly transmitted from dogs to humans. 

September 28 - World Rabies Day

Here are five must-know facts about rabies and what you can do to keep your pets and family safe:

1. Rabies is the world’s deadliest infectious disease.  Rabies causes nearly 60,000 human deaths every year.

2. Cat rabies cases far outnumber dog cases in the US. Every year, about 400 domestic animal rabies cases are confirmed in the US, of which nearly 300 involve cats.

3. Not all states or jurisdictions implement the same rabies guidelines or laws. Veterinarians can go to www.rabiesaware.org

   to seek clarification and guidance about the rabies laws mandated by their state. 

4. The US has no national rabies law. Rabies laws and regulations are established at the state level. This is why it is so important that veterinarians and staff educate clients and set programs in place like FVFL (Free Vaccines for Life Program) to help keep our pets and family safe.

5. Rabies vaccination programs significantly decreased incidences in the US. Programs to encourage rabies vaccinations leads to a dramatic decrease in rabies cases in domestic animals and people. 

   
   

World Rabies Day is on September 28th, and was established in 2007 by the Global Alliance for Rabies Control to raise awareness about this worldwide deadly disease.

Here at Gainesville Animal Hospital, we want to do our part in keeping our fur babies and humans safe. We would like to encourage our community to stay safe and enroll in our FVFL (Free Vaccines for Life Program), which includes the rabies vaccine, to ensure the safety of our loved ones in a cost effective manner. 

Give us a call at 352-372-5366 (East) or 352-332-5366 (West) for more info. 

If you suspect an animal has rabies, do not try to catch them.  

Please call Alachua County Animal Control at (352) 264-6880.  You can report stray animals or wild animals that are behaving aggressively or unusually. 

Another option is to call the Florida Department of Health in Alachua County (352) 334-7930. If you suspect a person or pet has potentially been exposed to rabies through a bite or scratch. State regulations require that all animal exposures from a suspected or known rabid animal be reported to the county health department.  

By Fawn Hart

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