(
HACKENSACK
) – Bergen County Executive Dennis McNerney and the County Department of Health Services today urged all county residents to stay away from wild animals after a raccoon found in Saddle Brook on February 27, 2007, was confirmed rabid by state officials.
“Residents should keep a safe distance from wild or unknown animals, including cats and dogs,” said McNerney. “A bite or scratch from a rabid animal requires immediate treatment. Keep your families safe and report any stray animal that is acting strange to your local police department.”
Rabies is a fatal viral disease if left untreated and can be transmitted to humans through biting, scratching, or direct contact with saliva from a rabid animal. Wild animals such as raccoons, skunks, bats, groundhogs, and fox are commonly affected. Over 5,000 animals have been identified as rabid in
New Jersey
since 1989.
Residents should call their local police department if they see a wild animal that is acting sick or showing abnormal behaviors, such as partial paralysis, circling, staggering as if drunk or disoriented, self-mutilating or exhibiting either unprovoked aggression or unnatural tameness. Adults must be able to report the location and description of the animal. If the animal is a pet, officials need the owner’s name, address, and telephone number, the animal’s vaccination status, and its licensing number/identification.
Individuals who are bitten by a wild animal must begin rabies treatment, regardless of whether the animal tested positive for the disease. Treatment includes five injections of the rabies vaccine in the upper arm over a 28-day period.
McNerney said people should take the following precautions to prevent the spread of rabies:
- Do not feed, handle or approach wild or stray animals
- Avoid animals that act in a strange or unusual way
- Report stray animals to the local police department. Animal control officers are trained to handle stray dogs and cats. Never attempt to handle wild or stray animals yourself
- Protect pets from encounters with wild or stray animals. Inoculate pets and do not allow them to roam free
If you have any questions about rabies or a possible rabies exposure, contact your municipal health department. A listing of all municipal health departments in
Bergen
County
can be found at www.bergenhealth.org/dept/resources/munidirectory.html.
For further information, contact the Bergen County Department of Health at 201-634-2600 or log on to www.bergenhealth.org. Rabies is listed under “Health Topics.”
