Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 3, 1994 TAG: 9402030074
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-7 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: STEVE KARK CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: PEARISBURG LENGTH: Medium
The Giles County Supervisors voted Tuesday to require the licensing and vaccination after hearing an official from the state Health Department detail the growing problem with rabies in the Southeast.
The good news for cat owners, however, is that a cat license will cost $2.50, as compared with a dog license, which will remain $7.50.
V.B. Marcussen, an official with the state Health Department, told the supervisors that licensing for cats was necessary to prevent a serious rabies threat, as the disease spreads throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.
Before cat or dog owners can obtain a license for their pets, they have to show proof that the animal has been vaccinated for the disease.
Between 1991 and 1992, the number of rabies cases in Virginia increased by almost 300 percent, from 290 to 732 cases.
Moreover, 1992 was the first year that the documented number of cases of rabies in cats actually exceeded the number for dogs.
The number of cases of rabies in dogs has been controlled since the practice of vaccinating dogs spread nationwide in the 1950s, he said.
"I cannot overemphasize the need for vaccinating domestic animals for rabies," Marcussen said.
He pointed to a number of colored pushpins stuck into a map of the New River Valley. Each represented a confirmed case of rabies in 1992. There were 19 in all.
Although the majority of reported cases of rabies occur in wild animals such as racoons, skunks and foxes, the disease can be transmitted to humans when these animals come into contact with domestic animals, he said.
Marcussen elaborated on several cases that appeared in Giles County that year. In one case, he said, a Pembroke parent grew suspicious of a stray cat her daughter found near their home. When the animal was found to be rabid, both mother and daughter had to be treated for the disease.
Rabies is always fatal, he cautioned, if it isn't diagnosed and treated in time.
Besides being a health risk, rabies can be costly for farmers as well. Marcussen reported two cases where county farmers were forced to quarantine livestock - cattle in one case, sheep in the other - because the animals were exposed to rabies.
by CNB