Potential rabies exposure cases increasing in Flathead County

Either due to more animal activity or better reporting, the Flathead City-County Health Department has marked in increase in potential rabies exposure incidents.

Hillary Hanson, Deputy Health Officer, said the county is seeing a large number of potential rabies exposure cases.

These are largely due to pets interacting with rodents.

“We’ve seen lots of animals exposed with bats,” Hanson said. “Especially with cats catching bats and being potentially exposed to rabies.”

Every known bat exposure is investigated by the department. A rabies-positive bat was found in Flathead County earlier this year, so any interaction with bats is being taken seriously.

“The big message we are trying to get out is that if you have any encounter with a bat, try to save the bat so we can test it for rabies,” Hanson said.

If you can’t secure the animal — alive or dead — post-exposure treatment of the bite or scratch, then vaccine therapy, is recommended to avoid any infection.

The last human case of rabies in Montana was in 1997, and it resulted in the death of a Blaine County man.

An uptick of dog and cat bites and scratches also has kept the department busy. As a matter of precaution, all interactions with pets that break the skin are investigated. The pet in question is placed in quarantine for 10 days if it previously had been vaccinated.

“That’s the key to avoiding exposures,” Hanson said. “Get your pets vaccinated. That’s the key for both animals and humans.”

Animals without vaccinations can be quarantined even longer or possibly euthanized if they show symptoms. The animals are kept at the county animal shelter while under quarantine.

Hanson said a campaign to inform people about the potential danger of a rabies exposure may be responsible for the good reporting, or it might be just an increase in incidents overall.  

What isn’t hard to tell is that some of the several dozen potential exposures have been from animals that have not been vaccinated for rabies, creating a minor scare whenever one is reported.

In 2014 there were 42 reported incidents with bats. The last confirmed case of rabies in a pet was a cat in 2001.