United States: Recent rabies-related incidents, along with the death of a stray kitten from the disease in Nebraska, have triggered a search for the source of this concerning virus.
More about the news
This rabies strain, associated with the Eastern raccoon rabies virus variant (RRVV), has never been found this far west, with previous cases reported nearly 850 miles away on the East Coast.
According to Sydney Stein, a team lead and an investigator with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,” A coordinated multiagency response was initiated to determine if local transmission of RRVV was occurring and to implement a wildlife vaccination program,” US News reported.
The kitten was found in Omaha and tested positive for the RRVV strain of rabies “after dying with neurologic signs and having bitten and scratched its caretakers,” the investigating team noted.
Exposure by disease
Reports indicate that ten individuals are undergoing treatment to prevent rabies infection, a viral disease that can be fatal but is also preventable.
According to Stein and the team, “Rabies is a fatal, yet preventable, viral disease primarily transmitted through the bite of infected animals; after exposure, the incubation can last from weeks to months,” US News reported.
While rabies remains rare in the U.S., with fewer than ten fatalities annually, the emergence of RRVV signals a growing threat as raccoons expand their range.
To find out how the feline got infected, the CDC, USDA, the Nebraska local health department, and the Nebraska local health department assisted each other in tracking the kitten’s origin, as per the US News.