Powers

ENTERPRISE — A Wallowa County resident was bitten by a bat carrying rabies on Tuesday, Sept. 5; it’s a rare occurrence, but local health officials nevertheless are eager to avoid any further exposures.

Dr. Elizabeth Powers, the county’s health services officer and chief medical officer at Winding Waters Clinic, said the victim was in the city of Enterprise, though confidentiality rules barred her from disclosing precisely where the incident occurred. The bat was captured intact, euthanized and tested for rabies. The bite victim promptly began treatment.

Human recommendations

Winding Waters’ response to an animal bite to a human depends on several factors, Powers said.

“The response to something like this depends on whether or not we have an animal intact to test,” she said. “The animal is safely euthanized and tested. Once we know someone is bitten, then we do post-exposure prophylaxis, human rabies immunoglobulin, which provides their body with passive protection against the virus, as well as vaccinating them for rabies over a period of time. There are two different treatments because it takes a while for the human body to build antibodies, so we provide them with passive immunity in the terms of immunoglobulins.”

The last-known case of an animal infected with rabies in Wallowa County was a skunk in 2017.

“The endemic rate of rabies is estimated to be about 5-10% for mountainous areas, so I would say that is also probably true for Wallowa County. Most just don’t come into contact with people, so it is not a condition we see a lot of,” Powers said.

Being bitten by an animal is not the only way for rabies to spread since the virus is present in saliva and can be transmitted through direct contact with the saliva itself.

“The most important thing is to just avoid wild animals,” Powers said. “Don’t try to feed raccoons, don’t try to pet a cute skunk. Ask for assistance if a bat is in your house. Avoid contact with wild creatures. Be aware that our pets, even as domesticated animals, are potential risks. If you are bitten by a wild animal, reach out to the public health hotline at 541-426-4848.”

Animal recommendations

There are two different forms of rabies. One of the forms is usually portrayed in movies as an overly aggressive animal foaming at the mouth, called the “furious form.” That form is extremely rare, said Dr. Severin Knudsen, owner of Enterprise Animal Hospital.

“It is kind of an antiquated term, but the term for the common form of rabies is the ‘dumb form,’” he said. Animals with this form of rabies “get lethargic, have vision problems, drooling, have trouble eating, and just (are) acting like they are (in) an altered mental state … but aggression is actually really rare,” he said.

The only way to test an animal for rabies is through microscopic evaluation of the brain; there are no blood tests that can be done to avoid euthanasia for testing purposes.

“If we decide an animal needs to be tested for rabies, it has to be euthanized and sent promptly on ice to the Oregon State veterinary lab where they can do the test,” Knudsen said. “That is true for both wild and domestic animals.”

“I have seen one case of rabies in a cow in my career, so it is important for people to know that rabies, while we think about it infecting wild animals and we vaccinate our pets for it, ranchers should also be aware it can infect livestock and horses,” he said, adding that domestic animals can be carriers as well and are exposed regularly to bats and skunks. “There are rabies vaccines for horses. Cats, dogs, and horses should all be vaccinated for rabies. We don’t vaccinate cows for rabies.”

Knudsen urges every pet owner to get their animals vaccinated against rabies, and Oregon law requires that dogs are vaccinated.

“We have had a few calls from people wanting to get their pets in for rabies vaccination. Cats are not required by law to be vaccinated for it,” he said, but he added that it’s the policy in his clinic that cats be vaccinated, in part because “they are much more likely to interact with bats than a dog.”