Rabies death reported by local health department
By Rick Charmoli
District Health Department No. 10 Medical Director Dr. James Wilson said despite a recent death caused from rabies, there is no public health threat.
Although the death has occurred, Wilson said an exact location is not being named out of respect for the family of the deceased. District Heath Department No. 10 covers Crawford, Kalkaska, Lake, Manistee, Mason, Mecosta, Missaukee, Newaygo, Oceana and Wexford counties.
While the location of the incident was not revealed, Wilson did say the person who died had come into contact with a bat. This is the first death due to rabies in Michigan since 1983.
"It is not a general public health issue, and very few people in this instance were exposed. It was a non-bite incident involving a bat," he said. "Of course the family is concerned, but only a few people had possible exposure to rabies."
"The health department is working with the family to get them covered with post exposure prophylactics," Wilson said.
Rabies is spread by saliva through the bite of an infected animal. Non-bite infection is very rare but may occur when wet saliva comes into contact with the eyes or mouth, or contaminates fresh open wounds. Rabies is not spread through touching, petting, or contact with blood, urine, feces or dried saliva.
"It is very unusual thing. There are few deaths every year from rabies, but they are usually all middle-aged men who don’t seek treatment or don’t know they are exposed," he said.
Human rabies is rare in the United States, with only 55 cases diagnosed since 1990. Worldwide there are more than 30,000 deaths annually from rabies, mostly in countries without canine rabies vaccination programs.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that wild animals accounted for 93 percent of rabies in the U.S. in 2008. Of these, nearly 35 percent were raccoons, 26 percent bats and 23 percent skunks. The distribution among species varies by geographic region; only Hawaii is rabies-free.
Recent CDC data suggests that transmission of rabies virus from bats can occur after seemingly unimportant or unrecognized contacts. Vaccination should be considered unless the exposed person can be absolutely certain that a bite, scratch, or mucous membrane exposure did not occur.
For more information on rabies, see www.cdc.gov/rabies and www.michigan.gov/ rabies.
rcharmoli@cadillacnews.com | 775-NEWS (6397)
What should I do if I think I have been exposed to rabies?
• Immediately wash the wound with lots of soap and water.
• Seek medical attention at once after washing the wound.
• Have someone safely capture and confine the animal.
• If it is a pet, check with the owner for a current rabies vaccination.
• Make sure the bite is reported to your local health department and animal control office.
• Follow instructions for dealing with the animal. You may be told to confine and observe for 10 days, or it may be necessary to euthanize and submit the undamaged head for testing.
• Any time a sleeping person awakens to find a bat in the room or a bat is found with an unattended child, disabled person, or intoxicated person, the bat should be submitted for testing.
Source: District Health Department No. 10
