Date: Wed 20 Dec 2000
From: M. Cosgriff <mcosgriff@hotmail.com>
Source: AP, 20 Dec 2000 [edited]
Sweetwater Officials Ponder Rabies Case
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Sweetwater County officials are pondering what to do after a rabid skunk
was killed in Farson, the first case of its kind in the county since
officials began keeping records in the 1960s. Tests showed the skunk was
infected by another skunk and not by a bat. While bat rabies is also
dangerous, there is less possibility of the virus spreading. [The spread
referred to here must be geographically rather than transmission to
humans. The majority of U.S. human rabies cases in the last few years have
been associated with bat exposures. - Mod.PC]
"The problem we have is how it got here," said Ken Mills, a University of
Wyoming microbiologist. The nearest recent skunk rabies case was south of
Lander, but officials doubted a skunk would have traveled that far on its
own, especially since skunks seldom wander more than a mile from
water. Possibly, they said, a rabid skunk hitched a ride on a hay load or
a horse trailer, or a wandering coyote contracted the strain. "The concern
is that if it establishes itself in the skunk population, it will pass
through the population," Mills said.
Compounding the problem is the time of year. Frank Galey, director of the
State Veterinary Lab in Laramie, said skunks go into their rutting season
in January, and male skunks tend to travel a lot during that time. Marvin
Applequist, the Farson veterinarian who sent the rabid skunk's carcass to
the veterinary lab, said the animal was seen fighting with another skunk
and that skunk was not killed. He said he conducted a rabies vaccination
clinic in Farson last week and 100 animals were vaccinated.
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