A rare, but potentially fatal disease causes officials to take action when reported.
Public Health Nurse for Oneida County, Char Ahrens, says rabies is a concern this time of year. The viral disease is transmitted mainly from one mammal to another. While the wide majority of rabies cases are wild animal transmissions, a dog or cat bite will require the quantining of the animal to see if they develop rabies.
Ahrens says pet owners should know that animal bites lead to the animal being quarantined...
"...Wisconsin law requires that any dog or cat that bites a person or if there's any abrasion of skin, that dog or cat be quarantined for 10 days so it can be observed for signs of rabies...."
She says rabies is preventable but not curable and could lead to death. Ahrens says confusion occurs when the bite victim is also the animal's owner. The owner will say the animal stays indoors. Ahrens says there have been cases where the dog fought with a rabid skunk in the yard or a cat snagged a bat that got loose in the house and both animals have rabies.
