THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 24, 1994 TAG: 9407220024
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 45 lines
You suggested in ``Taxing Tabby'' (editorial (July 12) that rather than the city of Norfolk using dog- and cat-licensing laws, which require dogs and cats to be vaccinated against rabies, to help control the spread of rabies, the ``better idea'' is to rid the city of ``varmints'' such as wild cats and raccoons. Your ``better idea'' is neither feasible nor responsible.
Until the 1950s, many health officials relied on thinning or eradicating populations of wild animals that tend to be carriers, or ``reservoirs,'' of the rabies virus. This method of rabies control was abandoned because it was not successful. To be successful, enormous numbers of animals must be removed from an area or killed, and even when the rabies virus is initially halted, rabies typically returns after one reproductive cycle, or approximately one year. Consequently, it is a process that never ends, quickly becomes prohibitively expensive and typically involves the wholesale slaughter of many animals.
Routine immunization of animals that are most likely to transmit the rabies virus to humans, coupled with public education on how to avoid rabies, is the basis for a successful rabies-prevention program. Dogs account for 90 percent of all human deaths from rabies worldwide; however, in the United States, periodic routine vaccination of pet dogs has almost completely stopped canine transmission of rabies to humans. The rabies disease in cats can and should be eliminated in the same way.
With the spread of the disease all but halted through dog and cat immunization, transmission through wild animals can be further controlled by teaching adults and children how to avoid contact with rabies.
Methods have been under development for 30 years for inoculating populations of wild foxes, skunks, raccoons and cats to further halt the spread of rabies. Perhaps in the next 10 or 20 years such programs will also be routine. Until that time, whatever views you have on dog- and cat-licensing laws, please ensure that your better ideas are well-thought-out, researched and responsible alternatives to solving the problem.
RAY W. KING
Norfolk, July 14, 1994 by CNB