THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Saturday, July 13, 1996               TAG: 9607130169
SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY IDA KAY JORDAN, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                        LENGTH:   45 lines

RABID RACCOON SHOT IN YARD IS 1ST KNOWN CASE IN PORTSMOUTH A CAT IT ATTACKED IS EUTHANIZED, IN THE CITY'S FIRST KNOWN RABIES CASE SINCE '42.

A rabid raccoon in Churchland, the first case of rabies reported here in 54 years of record-keeping, was shot by a police officer this past Sunday. But not before he attacked a family cat in Edgewood Park.

Roxanne, an 8-year-old black manx cat, was euthanized after being bitten by the raccoon.

Paula Quiros, owner of the cat, said she chose to have Roxanne put to sleep rather than to have her live in isolation for 180 days, a requirement of the Health Department.

``It was really hard,'' Quiros said Friday. ``She had been with me for so long, but it would have been so hard on her to live in confinement for six months.''

Quiros said the rabid raccoon was shot by a passing police officer who saw the wild animal fighting with the cat in the Quiros driveway.

``I think that Roxanne was protecting the family,'' Quiros said. ``I have a 4-year-old son, and she always tried to protect him. The really scary thing is that my son could have been bitten, too.''

Rabies is rare in Portsmouth.

``All the surrounding cities have reported rabies, but this is the first confirmed case in Portsmouth,'' Jerry Saunders of the Portsmouth Public Health Department said Friday. ``We can't confirm that it never happened, but we've been keeping records since 1942 and there's no record of a case since then.''

The Health Department issued a warning to Portsmouth residents alerting them that rabid wild animals may be carrying the viral disease.

``Rabies is a serious human health risk,'' said Dr. Venita Newby-Owens, health department director. ``It is a fatal disease once symptoms begin. However, if medical treatment is given immediately after exposure, a person can avoid the disease.''

Rabies is transmitted through the saliva of an infected animal. When a rabid animal bites another animal or a human, the virus travels through nerve cells and destroys the central nervous system.

Pets should be vaccinated against rabies, and people should avoid contact with cats and dogs they don't know, as well as with wild animals, such as raccoons.

KEYWORDS: RABIES by CNB