As the 4th of July weekend approaches, outdoor activities will be in full force and the Putnam County Department of Health would like to remind Putnam County residents to be aware of the potential for rabies exposure.

Rabies continues to be a serious public health problem in New York State.  Rabies is a deadly disease caused by a virus that attacks the nervous system. Rabies virus is in the saliva and nervous tissue of a sick animal. Rabies is most often seen in wildlife such as raccoons, bats, skunks, and foxes.

You can get rabies if a rabid animal bites you or its saliva or nervous tissue gets into an open cut or your eyes, nose or mouth.

The Health Department is stressing the importance of capturing any bat found in your home or calling a private Nuisance Control Agent to capture the bat so that it can be brought to the Health Department and sent out to be tested for rabies.   If the bat does not test positive for rabies, treatment is not necessary. Rabies post-exposure treatment involves a series of vaccinations over a 28-day period.

Only about 4 percent of bats submitted for testing are positive for the rabies virus.  The only way to avoid unnecessary treatment is to capture the bat.

Visit www.putnamcountyny.com to view a video providing step by step instructions on how to capture a bat.

Cats, dogs, ferrets, and livestock can also get rabies if they are not vaccinated.
Vaccination is the best protection for your pets against possible Rabies exposure.  Make sure any
pets over 3 months of age are appropriately vaccinated.

Any individual who has had contact with a bat or any other wild or feral animal should immediately
call the Putnam County Health Department.   Report all animal bites or contacts with wild animals or
stray dogs and cats to the Health Department. The Health Department also tests any possibly rabid
animals after an incident involving contact with a human or pet.

For more information on rabies, please visit www.putnamcountyny.com or call the Putnam County Health Department at 278-6130 to report an animal bite.