Rabies Confirmed in Prowers County Coyote

What makes this news significant is that a Colorado coyote has tested rabies positive for the first time in at least 30 years. In addition, the specter of the skunk virus variant of rabies crossing the border into Colorado again, has risen.

The following information provided by The Colorado Veterinary Medical Association:

The laboratory of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) has confirmed a rabies-positive coyote from Prowers County in southeastern Colorado, prompting that county’s public health authorities to place an order for the county that requires dogs and cats to be up-to-date on rabies vaccinations.
This is the first coyote to test positive for rabies in at least 30 years, according to John Pape, CDPHE epidemiologist.
The coyote was shot after attacking a person on June 15 and the animal was submitted to the state lab for rabies testing on June 18. The person bitten by the coyote is currently undergoing preventative rabies treatment.
Jackie Brown, director of the Prowers County Public Health Nursing Service, said “All dogs and cats in the county must have documentation of a current rabies vaccination within 30 days of the order being issued.”
Brain tissue from the coyote is being sent to a U.S. Centers for Disease Control lab for typing of the rabies strain: bat, skunk, Mexican dog or another animal. Pape said that because of Prowers County’s southeast Colorado location, it’s possible that the rabies strain will be determined to be skunk, as it is commonly found in Kansas and Oklahoma, and has occasionally surfaced in Colorado.
“If this turns out to be a skunk variant strain, then people need to be alert for other infected animals in the area,” Pape said. “If skunk rabies has re-entered Colorado and is circulating in the area, it would greatly increase the risk of rabies being transmitted to pets or livestock.”
For more information, contact your county’s health department or CDPHE at 303.692.2700.

This is also a great time to remind everyone that most wild animals, who are otherwise uninjured, allow humans to approach only when ill. The threat of rabies infection increases when an animal feels cornered or trapped and will lash out with its teeth in self defense. DO NOT approach sick wildlife- especially bats, a major vector for rabies in Colorado. To learn more about bats and rabies in Colorado, follow this link to the Colorado Department of Wildlife Bats and Rabies page.