What is Rabies?
Rabies is a viral disease found most often within the US in wild animals, such as bats, racoons, skunks, and foxes. It is zoonotic, meaning it can spread between animals and humans.
Rabies targets the brain and nervous system. It is spread through contact with saliva or brain/nervous system tissue of infected animals or people. It is most often transmitted through bites from affected animals. It can take weeks or even months for symptoms to appear after exposure. Rabies is 99% fatal in humans: less than 20 people in recorded history have survived a case of clinical rabies. It is incredibly deadly and is 100% preventable.
Preventing Rabies
The first and foremost way to prevent rabies is to keep all of your dogs, cats, and ferrets up-to-date on their rabies vaccines. Keeping ferrets and cats indoors at all times, or indoors with all outdoor time supervised, can restrict contact with potential wildlife hosts that could transmit rabies. For dogs, it is important to keep them on-leash or under competent voice control when outdoors to limit interaction with wildlife. Because stray animals can also be vectors for rabies, do your part to stop the problem at its source by having your pets spayed and neutered to avoid unwanted litters.
For people, the best way to avoid potential contact with rabies is to avoid close interaction with wildlife. While raccoons, skunks, bats, and foxes are the most common carriers in the US, Alaskans should be aware of otters as potential carriers. Rabies cases have been reported in recent years both along the North Slope and western Alaska; however, there are current concerns of potentially rabid river otters in Anchorage. Rabies may not be documented in Juneau yet, but it is not as distant a possibility as it once was. Keeping our community's pets vaccinated is vital in keeping both the pets and animals here safe.
If you travel internationally, especially with pets, stay safe by researching the area ahead of time to know what the rabies risk might be, and to know the country's laws for importing animals. Make sure you keep your pet's medical and veterinary records stored in a safe location to always have the rabies certificate at the ready when needed.
Why it Matters
It may be irritating to have animal welfare groups and pet service providers constantly asking for your pet's rabies certificate, but there are many reasons why rabies prevention is important and why organizations like JAR take such care in ensuring the animals we interact with are vaccinated.
Rabies is a horrific disease. The imagery of "mad dogs" is still fear-inducing in many people who have seen first-hand the effects of the canine rabies virus variant in the US. Prior to 1960, over a hundred people would die annually from rabies. Rabies has been around for thousands of years, as have regulations for rabies. Written record from over four thousand years ago describes fines to be paid by a dog's owner if it is known to be rabid and transmits the deadly disease to a person. Limiting the risk of rabies is far from new, but the effectiveness of rabies control is quite recent, in comparison.
Since mass animal vaccinations in the mid 20th century, cases of rabies in humans in the US are in the single digits, and as of 2007, the United States was declared free from the canine rabies virus variant. But this doesn't mean the danger is past.
Rabies is still prevalent in other countries, and in wildlife. There have been reports of domestic animals from other countries arriving in the US, then testing positive for rabies. Many of the human cases that still occur are due to contact with the rabies virus when the individual was traveling in a more rabies-prone country, such as India.
Treatment for humans with rabies can be unpleasant, but is 100% effective, if administered quickly after possible exposure. Post-exposure prophylaxis can be a lifesaving treatment. For those in more at-risk positions, such as veterinary and animal control professionals, preexposure care through vaccination is also a safe and effective option. But the first line of defense will always be to keep pets vaccinated.
If you're not sure if your pets are current on their rabies vaccinations, talk with your veterinarian. If your pet needs a rabies vaccine, you can bring them to JAR's Rabies and Microchip clinic. Rabies Clinic takes place on Tuesdays from 2 PM-4:45 PM; check the events calendar HERE to see upcoming clinic dates and HERE for more information about clinic procedures and COVID measures.
Learn more about rabies and prevention HERE.
Rabies is a viral disease found most often within the US in wild animals, such as bats, racoons, skunks, and foxes. It is zoonotic, meaning it can spread between animals and humans.
Rabies targets the brain and nervous system. It is spread through contact with saliva or brain/nervous system tissue of infected animals or people. It is most often transmitted through bites from affected animals. It can take weeks or even months for symptoms to appear after exposure. Rabies is 99% fatal in humans: less than 20 people in recorded history have survived a case of clinical rabies. It is incredibly deadly and is 100% preventable.
Preventing Rabies
The first and foremost way to prevent rabies is to keep all of your dogs, cats, and ferrets up-to-date on their rabies vaccines. Keeping ferrets and cats indoors at all times, or indoors with all outdoor time supervised, can restrict contact with potential wildlife hosts that could transmit rabies. For dogs, it is important to keep them on-leash or under competent voice control when outdoors to limit interaction with wildlife. Because stray animals can also be vectors for rabies, do your part to stop the problem at its source by having your pets spayed and neutered to avoid unwanted litters.
For people, the best way to avoid potential contact with rabies is to avoid close interaction with wildlife. While raccoons, skunks, bats, and foxes are the most common carriers in the US, Alaskans should be aware of otters as potential carriers. Rabies cases have been reported in recent years both along the North Slope and western Alaska; however, there are current concerns of potentially rabid river otters in Anchorage. Rabies may not be documented in Juneau yet, but it is not as distant a possibility as it once was. Keeping our community's pets vaccinated is vital in keeping both the pets and animals here safe.
If you travel internationally, especially with pets, stay safe by researching the area ahead of time to know what the rabies risk might be, and to know the country's laws for importing animals. Make sure you keep your pet's medical and veterinary records stored in a safe location to always have the rabies certificate at the ready when needed.
Why it Matters
It may be irritating to have animal welfare groups and pet service providers constantly asking for your pet's rabies certificate, but there are many reasons why rabies prevention is important and why organizations like JAR take such care in ensuring the animals we interact with are vaccinated.
Rabies is a horrific disease. The imagery of "mad dogs" is still fear-inducing in many people who have seen first-hand the effects of the canine rabies virus variant in the US. Prior to 1960, over a hundred people would die annually from rabies. Rabies has been around for thousands of years, as have regulations for rabies. Written record from over four thousand years ago describes fines to be paid by a dog's owner if it is known to be rabid and transmits the deadly disease to a person. Limiting the risk of rabies is far from new, but the effectiveness of rabies control is quite recent, in comparison.
Since mass animal vaccinations in the mid 20th century, cases of rabies in humans in the US are in the single digits, and as of 2007, the United States was declared free from the canine rabies virus variant. But this doesn't mean the danger is past.
Rabies is still prevalent in other countries, and in wildlife. There have been reports of domestic animals from other countries arriving in the US, then testing positive for rabies. Many of the human cases that still occur are due to contact with the rabies virus when the individual was traveling in a more rabies-prone country, such as India.
Treatment for humans with rabies can be unpleasant, but is 100% effective, if administered quickly after possible exposure. Post-exposure prophylaxis can be a lifesaving treatment. For those in more at-risk positions, such as veterinary and animal control professionals, preexposure care through vaccination is also a safe and effective option. But the first line of defense will always be to keep pets vaccinated.
If you're not sure if your pets are current on their rabies vaccinations, talk with your veterinarian. If your pet needs a rabies vaccine, you can bring them to JAR's Rabies and Microchip clinic. Rabies Clinic takes place on Tuesdays from 2 PM-4:45 PM; check the events calendar HERE to see upcoming clinic dates and HERE for more information about clinic procedures and COVID measures.
Learn more about rabies and prevention HERE.