News and Notes

Online Food Handler Classes and Food Manager Courses CAUTION: 

Please check with the local health department to see if they will accept an on-line food handler or food manager training course. Please check you Local Health Department web-site page for more information on food handler's training courses. 

Rabies Update 

Rabies Reported in Area

Protect yourself. Protect your animals. Get the facts!

A skunk in Grant County has tested positive for rabies. 

There were other animals suspected of rabies, however they were not able to be tested as the brain was too damaged. Without positive confirmation, we must treat these exposures as positive. 

-If an animal that you suspect may have rabies has been in contact with a human or pet, do not damage the head of the suspected animal as the brain is necessary for examination.

If your pet comes in contact with a suspected rabid animal:

–Do not handle the pet with your bare hands. Saliva from the suspect animal may be on the pet’s fur–use rubber gloves for contact or examination. Occasionally, rabies can be transmitted if the saliva of an infected animal gets into a fresh scratch, break in the skin, or contact with mucous membranes (eyes, mouth, nose).

-Quarantine the pet away from contact of other people and pets until the status of the suspected animal is determined. 

If the animal cannot be examined immediately, the animal must be refrigerated–not frozen. Place the animal in a cardboard box or cooler with ice. Contact the Grant County Health Department immediately at 304-257-4922 or if after hours, call 911 and they will contact the Health Department. 

When a human is exposed or bitten by a suspected rabid animal, the hands and the area of broken skin should be immediately washed thoroughly with soap and water. Seek medical attention from a physician if skin has been broken to determine the need for rabies vaccine. Some of the factors considered in whether a patient needs Rabies Vaccine [post exposure prophylaxis (PEP)] is based upon the type of exposure, type of animal, as well as laboratory and surveillance information of the area. Rabies can be deadly, and any decisions made must be made without delay.

If a suspected animal is killed but has not had contact with a human or pet, cover it with lime and bury it.

To prevent rabies –vaccinate your pets. State Code 19-20A-2 requires that “any person who owns, obtains, or possesses a dog or cat within the State of West Virginia shall have the dog or cat properly vaccinated against rabies with a vaccine capable of producing immunity for three years, boosters one year after initial vaccination and every third year thereafter. Dogs and cats need not be vaccinated before the age of three months but must be vaccinated by the age of six months, [and] dogs and cats over six months of age entering the State of West Virginia must have been vaccinated as set forth above.” Keep your records updated. 20A- 6 “Whoever owns, keeps, or harbors a dog or cat and fails to have such dog or cat vaccinated or revaccinated against rabies can be fined or sentenced to jail.”

Clincal/rabies/slg 2-23-24