An elderly man who fed stray cats in his Oak Hills neighborhood was
bitten by a kitten that has tested positive for rabies, health
officials said Wednesday [1 Oct 2008]. It was the 2nd rabid cat
identified in Bexar County this year [2008] - a highly unusual
occurrence. And it comes as a nationwide shortage of human
post-exposure rabies vaccine is worsening.
The man, identified only as being in his 80s, is undergoing
post-exposure rabies treatment, said Christine Patmon, a spokeswoman
for the Metropolitan Health District.
"He had been seeing a skunk around his neighborhood," Patmon said.
"The concern now is that obviously this is our 2nd domestic cat within
Bexar County, and this skunk has not been captured." [Evidently the
cats are thought to have contracted rabies from the skunk. - Mod.JW]
Animal Care Services staff will distribute fliers in the neighborhood
Friday [3 Oct 2008], alerting residents to the risk for rabies,
Patmon said. State health officials have been rationing access to
rabies vaccine since the 2 worldwide manufacturers have seen their
supplies dwindle.
Problems began last summer when one of the manufacturers, Sanofi
Pasteur, began renovating its plant in France to comply with Food and
Drug Administration regulations. The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) reports that the shortage is unlikely to be resolved
until mid- to late 2009.
Metro Health, which maintains one of several state depots for human
rabies vaccine in Texas, is down to only 7 doses. The Texas
Department of State Health Services, which normally maintains 2300
doses in Austin and throughout the state, currently has just over 200.
Each series of rabies shots typically consists of 5 doses of vaccine,
along with 1 dose of immune globulin. The series costs between USD
1200 and USD 2000. Under the current system, state health officials
judge each possible human exposure on a case-by-case basis to see if
it warrants treatment. If it does, the patient's doctor or hospital
is given a password to order vaccine directly from the manufacturer.
"We're not aware of anyone who needed the vaccine in Texas who has
not gotten it," said Doug McBride, a spokesman for the state health
department.
Matthew Whitson, who oversees the vaccine for Metro Health, said the
city released vaccine to just one person last month [September 2008]
-- a resident who was bitten by a raccoon that could not be found for
testing. Rabies in domestic animals -- dogs and cats -- is uncommon
in Bexar County, which has reported a single case every few years,
predominantly in cats. It is much more common in wild animals. This
year [2008], rabies has been confirmed in 17 animals locally - 8
bats, 7 skunks and now 2 cats. The 1st cat was infected by a skunk
strain of rabies. The type of virus that infected the most recent cat
has not yet been determined.
Health officials are stressing the basics of rabies prevention --
vaccinating pets (the rabies vaccine for animals is not in short
supply) and keeping pets and people away from wildlife. Texas has had
one of the most complex problems with rabies in wildlife, with
outbreaks in coyotes, foxes, skunks and bats in recent years. Since
1995, the state has maintained a program of dropping vaccine-laden
biscuits in South, Central and West Texas to snuff out rabies in
coyotes and foxes.
Only one unvaccinated person is known to have survived rabies
infection, a teenage girl treated in 2004 with a combination of
antiviral drugs and put in an induced coma. A total of 14 Texans have
died of rabies in the past 30 years.
[Byline: Don Finley - Express News]
http://www.promedmail.org/pls/otn/f..._BACK_PAGE,F2400_P1001_PUB_MAIL_ID:1000,74230
bitten by a kitten that has tested positive for rabies, health
officials said Wednesday [1 Oct 2008]. It was the 2nd rabid cat
identified in Bexar County this year [2008] - a highly unusual
occurrence. And it comes as a nationwide shortage of human
post-exposure rabies vaccine is worsening.
The man, identified only as being in his 80s, is undergoing
post-exposure rabies treatment, said Christine Patmon, a spokeswoman
for the Metropolitan Health District.
"He had been seeing a skunk around his neighborhood," Patmon said.
"The concern now is that obviously this is our 2nd domestic cat within
Bexar County, and this skunk has not been captured." [Evidently the
cats are thought to have contracted rabies from the skunk. - Mod.JW]
Animal Care Services staff will distribute fliers in the neighborhood
Friday [3 Oct 2008], alerting residents to the risk for rabies,
Patmon said. State health officials have been rationing access to
rabies vaccine since the 2 worldwide manufacturers have seen their
supplies dwindle.
Problems began last summer when one of the manufacturers, Sanofi
Pasteur, began renovating its plant in France to comply with Food and
Drug Administration regulations. The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) reports that the shortage is unlikely to be resolved
until mid- to late 2009.
Metro Health, which maintains one of several state depots for human
rabies vaccine in Texas, is down to only 7 doses. The Texas
Department of State Health Services, which normally maintains 2300
doses in Austin and throughout the state, currently has just over 200.
Each series of rabies shots typically consists of 5 doses of vaccine,
along with 1 dose of immune globulin. The series costs between USD
1200 and USD 2000. Under the current system, state health officials
judge each possible human exposure on a case-by-case basis to see if
it warrants treatment. If it does, the patient's doctor or hospital
is given a password to order vaccine directly from the manufacturer.
"We're not aware of anyone who needed the vaccine in Texas who has
not gotten it," said Doug McBride, a spokesman for the state health
department.
Matthew Whitson, who oversees the vaccine for Metro Health, said the
city released vaccine to just one person last month [September 2008]
-- a resident who was bitten by a raccoon that could not be found for
testing. Rabies in domestic animals -- dogs and cats -- is uncommon
in Bexar County, which has reported a single case every few years,
predominantly in cats. It is much more common in wild animals. This
year [2008], rabies has been confirmed in 17 animals locally - 8
bats, 7 skunks and now 2 cats. The 1st cat was infected by a skunk
strain of rabies. The type of virus that infected the most recent cat
has not yet been determined.
Health officials are stressing the basics of rabies prevention --
vaccinating pets (the rabies vaccine for animals is not in short
supply) and keeping pets and people away from wildlife. Texas has had
one of the most complex problems with rabies in wildlife, with
outbreaks in coyotes, foxes, skunks and bats in recent years. Since
1995, the state has maintained a program of dropping vaccine-laden
biscuits in South, Central and West Texas to snuff out rabies in
coyotes and foxes.
Only one unvaccinated person is known to have survived rabies
infection, a teenage girl treated in 2004 with a combination of
antiviral drugs and put in an induced coma. A total of 14 Texans have
died of rabies in the past 30 years.
[Byline: Don Finley - Express News]
http://www.promedmail.org/pls/otn/f..._BACK_PAGE,F2400_P1001_PUB_MAIL_ID:1000,74230