The Louisiana Department of Health confirmed a case of rabies in a dog earlier this month. The infected dog was in the Acadiana region of the state. It’s the first case of canine rabies in Louisiana since 2014 and the fifth in the state in the last 20 years. Dr. Mark Mitchell, a professor of zoological medicine at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine, says especially since rabies is almost 100% fatal, this underscores the importance of vaccinating your pets as required by law.
“Making sure that our dogs, as well as our cats and even domestic pet ferrets, those are the three species that can be vaccinated for rabies, are vaccinated. It protects the animals as well as the humans who interact with them,” Mitchell said.
Dr. Mitchell says while rabies is mostly associated with household pets, humans can get the disease too.
“Most rabies cases in humans are tied to exposure to wildlife, not to our domestic pets because of vaccines, although there can be other cases. There have been cases of human exposure to rabies through kittens and through guinea pigs, through rabbits,” Mitchell explained.
Mitchell says it’s also important to prevent your pets from roaming freely, especially in rural areas in order to keep them away from wildlife.
“Make sure we’re keeping our domestic pets close to us and not allowing them free roaming, because they can damage the wildlife and encounter these diseases and other diseases that put them at risk,” Mitchell noted.