Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 27, 1995 TAG: 9509270081
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
An outbreak that began in the late 1970s with infected raccoons in Shenandoah County has spread to 83 percent of the state, said Suzanne R. Jenkins, assistant state epidemiologist.
``Anybody in Virginia is at risk of contact with a rabid animal,'' she said at a Tuesday news conference. ``We have an expanding outbreak.''
More than 300 rabid animals have been reported this year. The number of people in Virginia treated after they may have been exposed to rabies has grown from 250 in 1990 to 446 last year.
Gov. George Allen declared Oct. 1-7 the state's first rabies awareness week. Many veterinarians will mark the week by reducing their charge for pets' rabies shots from the usual $15-$20 to as little as $5, said Charles W. Hickey, public relations chairman for the Virginia Veterinary Medical Association.
Most Roanoke Valley veterinarians plan to offer the discounted rate Oct. 7.
State law requires that all dogs and cats get the rabies vaccine.
Rabies is caused by a virus that spreads through the central nervous systems of mammals, causing them to salivate and act aggressive. It is transmitted to humans through bites. Once symptoms develop, the disease is fatal.
People who have been bitten by a rabid animal undergo a series of shots to prevent the disease.
Accomack County on the Eastern Shore has had the highest number of rabid animals reported this year, 28. Other counties reporting a large number of rabid animals are Fairfax with 17 and Loudoun, Prince William and Rockingham with 10 each. Grayson County and Virginia Beach had nine each. Augusta and Albemarle counties each had eight.
The Virginia Department of Health said far Southwest Virginia is the only area of the state not heavily affected by the outbreak.
Rabies in human beings remains rare. The last case in Virginia occurred in 1953. There were six cases in the United States last year.
Memo: NOTE: SHorter version ran in Metro edition.