World Rabies Day Monday

Rabies has been largely controlled thanks to vaccinations of both humans and pet.

For World Rabies Day, Dekalb Animal Shelter Director Megan Moore said rabies is a curable disease thanks to vaccines.

“We see that people do get complaisant about rabies because we don’t think about it,” Moore said. “So vaccinations are so important that some people don’t think that it still is because you don’t see it as much.”

According to the CDC over 59,000 die world wide every year from rabies. Animal control Emmaly Bennet said people can contract the neurological disease by coming in contact with a rabid animal’s saliva.

“So rabies is actually a virus and once you are in contact with it, you can be administered a prophylactic and a vaccination for it,” Bennet said. “It’s a pretty rigorous protocol for that, but if you actually contract the disease you unfortunately will pass away from that disease. The same with the pets.”

Bennet said in the wild animal population a rabid host could include raccoons, skunks, bats, and foxes.

Moore said rabies shots for your pet is easily accessible and inexpensive.