The recent death of a rabid kitten in a Concord pet store has rekindled the public's interest in rabies, a disease that has become more prevalent throughout the state.
Approximately 600 people who had handled the kitten received rabies vaccinations in the panic that followed the incident.
Since then, media coverage on rabies has also increased.
In 1992, the number of rabies cases in New Hampshire rose from three or four cases per year to 10 cases in three months, creating an epidemic that is still spreading through the state, said Steve Tomajczyk, a public information officer for the N.H. Division of Public Health and Services.
New Hampshire has three types of rabies active within its borders: fox rabies, bat rabies and raccoon rabies. The raccoon rabies is the one that is the source of the epidemic.
Disease moves up Atlantic coast
Also known as Mid-Atlantic rabies, the disease has been moving up the Atlantic seaboard for 30 years. It spreads at a rate of 25 to 60 miles a year and as of now has reached the lakes area of New Hampshire.
So far this year, there are 189 reported cases of rabies, compared to last year's total of 148, Tomajczyk said. "We take this very seriously," he said.
The disease is usually spread through animal bites or when a person's eyes, nose or mouth come in contact with the bodily fluids of an infected animal, said a media fact sheet from the Division of Public Health and Services. The incubation period in humans averages around two to eight weeks.
Early symptoms include exhaustion, headaches, fever and feelings of apprehension. If an animal or a human becomes infected with the disease, death is always the result unless treatment is received immediately.
Because the rabies virus is so virulent, animals suspected of having rabies must be destroyed. Examining the brain is the only way to determine if an animal has rabies.
Bite location important
Since the disease travels through the nerves to attack the brain, "a bite on the toe will take longer to affect the brain than a bite on the arm," Tomajczyk said.
The disease spreads easily from the raccoons to other animals and humans. However, it is confined to mammals; reptiles, birds, insects and amphibians are not susceptible.
According to the fact sheet, the key to prevention is to avoid unknown or wild animals and their bodily fluids. Pets should be vaccinated against the disease as required by New Hampshire law and should not be let out unattended. Animals behaving strangely should be avoided and the local animal control officer should be notified.
Hanover secure for now
The disease has not yet reached Hanover, but the large population of raccoons in the area puts it at greater risk for having an outbreak, Joan McGovern of the Upper Valley Humane Society said.
"The nearest reported case was in the Bow-Concord area," she said.
The Concord pet store incident is the most famous case recently in the state.
The Hitchcock Clinic of the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center administered rabies vaccinations to about 300 people following the incident, the Boston Globe reported.
Representatives from the DHMC refused to comment about the rabies epidemic or the hospitals role in treatment.
Health experts found the ensuing furor a bit excessive, because rabies is rarely contacted through saliva, the Boston Globe reported.
But it was agreed by experts Geoffery Smith, a state epidemiologist, and Charles Danielson, a doctor at the College's Health Service, that vaccinations for those who might have been exposed are a good idea.
While rabies is nearly impossible to cure once contracted, treatments given before the infection spreads almost guarantee survival. Wounds should be washed and treatment can be given at a hospital.
