It was a quiet Saturday during the summer. Just as Robert (name changed) finished his morning duties at the farm, he noticed dog barking and fighting in the barn. It was not strange to Robert to hear his working dogs getting into trouble, but this time the barking was different: this time was a real life to dead fight.
As he got close to the barn, Robert did noticed the anger and agitation of this trouble. As he walked in, he noticed his two dogs altercating with a skunk.
The scenario was rather unusual. Skunks, a natural night creature, was in the middle of the day fighting and growling to the dogs. Seeing and running into a skunk is a rare event, especially during the day unless there is something wrong with the skunk.
Recent studies reported from the CDC indicated that wild animals accounted for 92.7% of reported cases of rabies in 2018. Bats were the most frequently reported rabid wildlife species (33% of all animal cases during 2018), followed by raccoons (30.3%), skunks (20.3%) and foxes (7.2%).
Rabies virus is adapted to its reservoir host and different variants exists in the United States, such as racoon variant, bat variant, fox variant and skunk variant. Although cross-species transmission of rabies virus variants does occur (for example, infection of dogs with raccoon rabies variant), rabies virus variants are primarily transmitted within the species they are adapted to, such as the raccoon variant primarily being transmitted between raccoons. Rabies virus variants associated with the major mesocarnivore species (such as raccoons, skunks, foxes and mongooses) are distributed in distinct geographic regions (CDC reported data).
In skunks, rabies symptoms include abnormal behavior, such as being active in the daytime, aggressiveness, seizures, stumbling and vocalizing. However, skunks and other infected animals can transmit rabies before they show symptoms of the disease.
The rabies virus is transmitted through infected animals’ saliva. Exposure normally occurs as a result of a bite. Less commonly, the virus can enter the body through an open wound or mucous membranes. It takes three to six weeks from the time of exposure for symptoms to appear, but the incubation period can be much longer.
There is no treatment for rabies once symptoms appear. Treatment must begin within days of exposure if the biting animal is known to be rabid or cannot be tested. In the past, rabies treatment consisted of multiple, painful injections in the abdomen, but this has been replaced by simple injections into the arm muscle.
Upon consulting with his veterinarian, rabies came into their conversation as a potential cause of the skunk’s abnormal behavior. It was their conclusion to get the skunk tested for rabies, and the brain tissue was sent to Austin. Without too many other alternatives, Robert’s dogs were euthanized immediately.
After few days, the laboratory results from the skunk’s test was reported as positive for rabies.
Rabies, even today, is a real threat to human lives, and extreme precautions must be taken to prevent transmission from animals to humans.