Walnut Cove, North Carolina Call us: (336) 593-5422
Latitude 36 Mobile Veterinary Services
E-mail: lat36vet@aol.com
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Rabies in Livestock
Case: Rabies in a pony
This case began with an emergency call on New Year's Day: the pony had a wound on the front of his chest, and he was biting and tearing at it. At the time, both the owner and I assumed that the pony had cut himself on a fence or in some underbrush, and he was biting at it because it was uncomfortable. (Now that I know the pony had rabies, I'm thinking that the wound may have been entirely self-inflicted, although we'll never know for sure.)
I explored the inside of the wound, but I found nothing that would explain the pony's reaction, such as a piece of wood or metal. I cleaned the wound and then advised the owner on wound care and how to make a bib out of a plastic bucket so that the pony could not keep biting at himself.
The pony had always been a biter, but when the owner called a few days later to say that the pony had just attacked him, and that the pony was now biting at his hind legs and had fallen down, warning bells rang in my mind. It's drilled into us in vet school to consider rabies whenever an animal is showing bizarre behavior, especially when the animal suddenly and without reason becomes aggressive. So, I discussed this possibility with the owner.
Unfortunately, the only way to diagnose rabies in an animal is to examine the brain tissue microscopically. That, of course, requires euthanasia - which is also the safest and most humane course of action if the animal has rabies because rabies is both highly infectious and highly fatal, and it's a terrible way to die.
After some thought, the owner decided to have the pony euthanized. I was still silently second-guessing myself until I saw the pony. All doubt was removed when I saw the wild, open-mouthed, bared-teeth attempts to bite at anything that came near his head, the repeated biting at his hind legs, and his unsteadiness and lack of coordination.
Please vaccinate your animals against rabies!
Call us or your local veterinarian to set up
an appointment for rabies vaccination/booster.
In other parts of the US, the main carriers of the rabies virus are skunks, foxes, coyotes, and bats. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have a map of the US which shows the most important wildlife reservoirs by state: rabies map
A colleague and I euthanized the pony, removed his head, and submitted it to the state lab. Two days later, we got a call from the lab to say that the pony was positive for rabies. The next call was to the owner, urging him and his wife to see their doctor about post-exposure rabies vaccination.
Rabies in livestock
Many people are not aware that livestock - horses, cows, sheep, goats, pigs, and other warm-blooded farm animals - can get rabies. In fact, pastured animals may be even more vulnerable than the average pet dog or cat. That's because the most common source of the rabies virus is wild animals.
Here in North Carolina, and along the entire east coast, raccoons are the most common source of rabies. However,
rabies can infect any warm-blooded animal, so it's a mistake to think that because you don't see any raccoons in your area, there is no rabies.
The symptoms of rabies in livestock often are similar to those in dogs and cats, which, in a word, exhibit signs of rage
("furious rabies"). But rabies in livestock sometimes looks quite a bit different; for example, the animal may seem quieter than usual ("dumb rabies") or alternate between hyperactive and dopey. Any really odd behavior in an animal should raise a red flag and have you calling your veterinarian for advice.
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