Pet owners have been urged to vaccinate their animals after health officials confirmed rabies in two dogs in Middle Tennessee.
Officials with the Tennessee Department of Health said the cases were confirmed in a puppy in Wilson County and another dog in DeKalb County in February. Neither of the dogs had their rabies vaccines up to date.
Testing for both dogs revealed a strain of rabies found in skunks – meaning they were likely infected by being bitten by skunks.
“The deaths of these animals serve as a somber reminder of the importance of rabies vaccination,” said TDH Commissioner John Dreyzehner, MD, MPH. “Our pets are more likely to come into contact with wild animals than people are. Keeping our pets’ rabies vaccinations up to date is an effective and important way to protect both them and our human loved ones.”
At Murphy Road Animal Hospital, veterinarians give rabies vaccinations to pets on a daily basis, and they stress the importance of staying on top of the vaccinations.
"This is a disease that starts with the animals, and we want to control it with the animals in order to protect our human population." Dr. Christine Widmann of the Murph Road Animal Hospital said.
Thirty-three animals, including one dog, 24 skunks, five bats and three raccoons, were diagnosed with rabies in 2015.
Tennessee state law requires all cats and dogs to get a rabies vaccination.
You can find a list of Tennessee’s health department locations and their contact information is available online at http://tn.gov/health/topic/localdepartments.
For questions about animal health, contact the Tennessee Department of Agriculture at 615-837-5120 or animal.health@tn.gov.
