Contact (972) 721-2256 to report animal bites in Irving
What to watch out for:
Bold, friendly, or apparently tame wild animals. Night animals, like skunks and foxes, that are seen in the daytime. Pets that have difficulty walking, eating, or drinking. Signs of excitement or viciousness in normally quiet animals. Animals that tear at or scratch an old wound until it bleeds. Cattle that strain for long periods of time. Bats that are unable to fly.
In the early stages, the personality of pets may change. A normally friendly dog may stay alone, another may begin to seek more attention. Some animals scratch at the place the virus entered their bodies. Later symptoms follow a furious pattern, a dumb (paralytic) pattern or a combination of both.
Man and all mammals are susceptible to rabies, which is almost invarioubly fatal. The disease is transmitted by an infected animal's biting or licking. The virus enters the victim's body through a break in the skin, or rarely, through mucous membranes (eyes, nose, throat).
Rabies affects the central nervous system. It may take from ten days to over a year to develop. However, exposed people can successfully be treated before the development of symptoms by a series of vaccinations.
Wildlife rabies is a major source of infection for domestic animals, including pets. This disease may be transmitted to man either by infected wild or domestic animals. Rabies is detected by a laboratory examination of the suspect brain tissue. Contrary to popular belief, rabies occurs in all seasons and in all sections of the country.
What should you do if you are bitten by an animal?
Any warm-blooded animal, (dog, cat, skunk, fox, bat, etc.), may have rabies. Any animal bite should be taken seriously. The following are precautions you can take if you are bitten:
- Identify the animal. If it is an owned dog or cat, it may be quarantined and observed for signs of rabies. If it is a wild carnivore or bat, the head (or whole body) should be submitted for laboratory testing of brain tissue. This is the only way to determine whether the animal was, in fact, infected with Rabies.
- Caution children to seek the help of a policeman, school guard, teacher, or other adult.
- Immediately wash the wound thoroughly with soap and hot water, rinse well, and put alcohol or iodine on it to kill germs.
- Consult a physician, as soon as possible, to determine whether anti-rabies treatment is needed.
- Have the biting dog or cat tested for rabies or quarantined for 10 days. Wild animals will be tested immediately.
- Report incident to the local health officer and Animal Services agency. In Irving, call (972) 721-2256
When an animal bites a person, who is in charge?
All cities, towns, and counties MUST designate someone to handle animal bite cases. This person is the RABIES CONTROL AUTHORITY (RCA) for animal bite cases. Contact (972) 721-2256 to report animal bites in Irving.
This person can be an Animal Services Officer, Peace Officer, Municipal Health Officer, County Health Officer, or any other person that can appropriately carry out the duties of an RCA.
The duties of an RCA are to enforce the Rabies Control Act (Chapter 826 of the Texas Health and Safety Code), including the Rules of the Texas Board of Health, and to enforce the local ordinances and/or rules pertaining to Animal Services.
The RCA is responsible for investigating animal bites and for the proper management of the biting animal.
What happens to the animal that bites someone?
Regardless of vaccination status, the dog or cat must be quarantined for ten days or humanely euthanized. If euthanized, the brain must be submitted to a rabies laboratory for testing. If the animal is to be quarantined, the ten day observation period begins on the day the bite occurred.
Skunks, bats, foxes, coyotes, and raccoons must be humanely euthanized. The animal's head must be submitted for rabies testing.
Opossums, shrews, moles, squirrels, gophers, mice, rats, and armadillos do not need to be quarantined or tested unless the RCA has reason to believe that the biting animal has rabies. Please, contact City Animal Services for additional questions.
All biting animals, high risk or low risk, that are not categorized as domestic cats or dogs should be humanely euthanized and tested. However, current rules allow a thirty day quarantine as an alternative to testing.
What is quarantine?
Quarantine means placing the animal in a facility which provides:
- Absolute security (no escape possible)
- Isolation (no contact with other animals or persons)
- Daily observation by a qualified person
Quarantine must be in one of the following facilities:
- An animal shelter with quarantine facilities approved by the Texas Department of Health (TDH).
- A Veterinary clinic operated by a licensed veterinarian.
- The owner's home facility, if approved by the RCA.
The TDH is responsible for inspection of all quarantine facilities in an animal shelter, however, the RCA is responsible for the proper handling and observation of all animals being quarantined.
What if the animal gets sick while in quarantine?
The animal should be examined by a veterinarian and if it is determined that it shows clinical signs of rabies, the RCA must submit the head for testing. The bite victim should be notified if the animal becomes sick, so that consultation on rabies treatment may be obtained. If the animal dies, the head of must be removed and tested for rabies.
Who pays for quarantine?
The owner of the biting animal is required by state law to pay the cost of the quarantine.
Steps toward community control of rabies:
Owners of dogs and cats are required by law to get a rabies vaccine and tag every year.
Irving provides a city animal shelter and Animal Services officers, and all stray animals are kept in the shelter until claimed, adopted, or euthanized according to city law.
Unvaccinated dogs and cats bitten by a rabid animal are humanely euthanized immediately.
All citizens should support community efforts to control wildlife and stray cats and dogs.
More questions and answers about rabies can be found at:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/rabies/
