Zoonotic Disease Update

West Ridge Animal Hospital periodically receives updates from the government regarding community health issues. The following information is from a recent Zoonotic Disease Update to our veterinarians from Weld County Department of Public Health & Environment:

Mosquito-borne Encephalitis
Colorado and Weld County experienced its second most active West nile virus year during 2007. Colorado reported 576 human West Nile cases and deaths. Weld County reported 98 human cases with 0 deaths. We (Weld County) will continue our surveillance efforts for Western Equine Encephalitis, St Louis Encephalitis, and West Nile Virus in 2008. The surveillance program includes dead bird surveillance and testing, mosquito trapping, speciation and testing; Vector Index calculation; and monitoring of equine and human cases.

Weld County requests that any community members with questions regarding dead birds call the Colorado HELP Health Line (COHELP), 1-877-462-2911, established by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE).

The COHELP Line operators will answer questions; give information on testing or disposal of birds and log information about where dead birds have been found for surveillance purposes. The COHELP Line will also document dead birds for Avian Influenza H5N1 "Bird Flu" surveillance.

Rabies
Rabies virus is still a risk to people and their pets. In Weld County, bats are the only animal to test positive for rabies for decades. During the year 2007, three bats tested positive for rabies in Weld County (two big brown bats and one hoary bat). The bats were found in Frederick, Ault, and Greeley.
Please contact (Weld County) if you know of any human or pet exposure to a bat. A bite does not need to occur for a bat to transmit rabies. Many people and pet animals that are bitten by bats do not feel the bites and do not have bite marks. Each exposure incident is evaluated individually. In all cases, having the bat to submit for rabies testing is very important.
Eastern Colorado saw a resurgence in skunk rabies during 2007 that hasn't been seen since the 1970's. A South Central strain of skunk rabies has been creeping into Colorado from Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma. It is expected to move west to the Front Range putting Weld County clearly in its path. Skunk rabies surveillance has been initiated East of I-25 in Colorado. Any "strange acting" skunk, including road kill, is acceptable for testing. Please give (Weld County) a call if you observe skunks in your area acting strangely, overly aggressive, out during the day, and any skunk that has had contact with a human, pet animal or livestock. If we find skunk rabies in Weld County we will be changing post exposure guidelines for pet animals and humans exposed to rabid and potentially rabid animals. Other states that have seen skunk rabies move into their area have also seen a sharp increase in pet animal rabies. We would expect to see the same thing happen in Colorado.

Plague
The Denver Metro are experienced an outbreak of plague activity in their tree squirrel population during 2007. No tree squirrels tested positive for plague in Weld County during 2007. Only four animals, all prairie dogs, tested positive for plague in Weld County during 2007, al lup North on the Pawnee National Grasslands. Residents are encouraged to report dead animals, particularly rodents (prairie dogs, rabbits, tree squirrels, etc.) to the Weld County Department of Public Health & Environment.
(Weld County) monitors prairie dog colonies in Weld County during the summer months for plague activity. (They) have documented plague activity in or around Weld County for many years now.

Anyone who lives near a prairie dog colony is urged to use flea repellent for dogs and cats as they can carry infected fleas home to their owners and family members. Also, please contact the County if you notice a decrease in prairie dog activity.

CDPHE will be posting current and past zoonotic disease information here.

If you are interested in more information, The weld County Environmental Health Services offices can be reached at 970-304-6415.