Potential Rabies Problem need help!!!

I would vaccinate the horse and then get the beaver tested. I would want to know!

DO NOT LET THE HEAD FREEZE!!!!!! Keep it cold but NOT frozen!!!!! (otherwise they can't test it, the brain turns to mush)

Call your local health department.

NEVER NEVER NEVER freeze the head - the brain tissue becomes worthless for testing.

Contact the most competent veterinarian in the area. They will know who at the local and state level to call and get involved.

What county in AL are you in? I can do some sleuthing for you in the meantime. AND DON'T FREEZE THAT HEAD.

BTW, when you took the head off yourself, you technically exposed yourself to rabies (if it's rabid). NEVER NEVER NEVER take a head off yourself. It is a high risk activity. Leave it for a veterinarian to do (we are usually current on our rabies shots and immune).

We vaccinate, better SAFE than SORRY~hugs~ I hope that your horse is okay!

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Ozark American Hippy Chick
Farm Mamma to:
Cows
Geese
Ducks
Pigs
Turkeys
Chickens
Goats
Dogs
and a couple of cats

Contact info for AL Veterinary Medical Association:
ALVMA Office
P.O. Box 3514
Montgomery, AL 36109
Phone - 334-395-0086
Fax - 334-270-3399

Call them first thing tomorrow.

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AL county-by-county rabies info links from the AL Dept of Public Health website:
http://www.adph.org/search.asp

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If the beaver were to test positive it would not change what you do, would it? You are goingto booster him and watch, either way it is the same. It is very doubtful the beaver is rabid, he probably had gotten hurt and maybe that is why he was hissing, along with fear. You may have done him a blessing by doing him in because if he was injured, he could have died a long slow death. It is scarey, but just think how much can happen to our critters and we never even know about it.

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tab

You did right. Do it again next time if you have to.

If it was me, I would pay for the test if it was less than a hundred bucks. That is ODD behavior for a beaver.

Whoever cut the head off has also been exposed to rabies if it was infected. They always warn us veterinarians that head removal is extremely high risk. We never let employees do it. ONLY the vet has any business handling decapitation.

I would call the Health Department (for humans). They should be in charge of disease vector. Tell them the bloody thing bit you. That'll get them off their butts. Seriously, if it is positive, whoever handled the body has been exposed too and should take treatment.

The second choice place I would call would be the USDA vet. Their phone number is on-line, and there is one of their offices in every state. They should know what to do.

Shots given after exposure are antibody shots, not vaccines.

Relax folks, nobody said anything about taking the head off. The whole beaver is double trash bagged, in a cooler with ice on it. Not frozen just cool enough to keep from decomposing. Gloves were used and the beaver was put in the bags while both my husband and I were wearing gloves. Neither of us came into contact with the saliva or even any blood for that matter. The soiled bedding in the barn was buried, so it was not even put in the compost pile or the garden. I have the information for the state lab in Montgomery and that is where the beaver is going this morning. We have decided to have it tested provided we can afford it. Either way the horse will be vaccinated and watched. I do know what to watch for. I spent many summers in college doing internships with vets and doing "rabies watch". Family issues and deciding to get married changed my mind about vet school. I agree Harry, odd behavior for a beaver. He had to come a long way from my neighbors lake, all the way around my fencing and double back to the barn. He had two other lakes in a much closer vicinity than any that he might have been trying to get to. It is a hunting and fishing club and several hundred acres of wildnerness back there. Even if he was trying to get to the pond across the road it was a straight shot from the neighbors house. Coming onto my property was definitely way out of his way. He also showed no signs of wanting to leave even after the horse was pulled from the barn and all the goats moved out of the barn. He stayed in the corner even after that was done and we went in the house to get the gun. Thanks everyone, Kat

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Come visit Homesteading and Homekeeping at Whisperwind Farm

Sounds like you've done everything just right. In case anyone thinks the described precautions are in any way "overkill," here's my second-hand story from college days. I'd landed a plum of a summer job as a research assistant at a virus research lab run by the Florida health department in the mid-'60s. Mostly, they were monitoring wildlife (mosquitoes, birds, rodents, raccoons, mostly) for encephalitis infections but of course rabies was an issue also and one I could run into doing field live-trapping and blood draws as I was about to be sent out on my own to do. As the research vet supervising me was going over my responsibilities, he got real glum and told me this story about rabies: one day he'd dropped by to visit another vet who was a good friend and went into his back room just as he was opening the skull of a pig being tested for rabies. Inexcusably, the friend had no face goggles and just sort of whacked at the head with a cleaver, resulting in a glop of brain tissue going right into an eye. "My God Joe, do you know what you just did if that animal WAS rabid??" "Oh hell, grumph, that's unlikely for a pig anyway, grumble" as he wiped at his eyes. The pig was rabid, he was dead in ten days.

Your eyes are developmental growth extensions of your brain, there's no time for rabies vaccine initial series to do any good if that's where you get a virus inoculation, especially a massive one like a glop of nerve tissue like that, but saliva or blood would be an awful risk, too. Keep it in mind handling any animal carcasses, including roadkill. Don't dare touch your face with hands until you've disinfected thoroughly if there's any thought of a rabies exposure situation, like as an earlier poster mentioned, from a horse's saliva while quarantined, even. (Or a pet's droolings if it comes in carrying a dead bat or skunk, etc.)

i think the apathy you experienced when trying to do the right thing is common in lots of places. i honestly feel that government agencies (local and state) do not want to have to deal with an outbreak of rabies.

i had a similar situation at least twice in the past. once it was a stray dog and once it was a raccoon. my sister works for a vet and was able to help in the testing of the raccoon...positive! the dog...we called the police and they wanted nothing to do with the situation. they wouldn't kill the dog. they told us to do it. so we shot the poor, sick thing, piled brush on it and burned the carcass.

at the time, there had been no official recognition of rabies in this area for many, many years...even though there had been several situations where kids had to be treated for coming into contact with rabid kittens and such. i don't think that pa or maryland wanted to admit publicly that there was a rabies problem once again.

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this message has probably been edited to correct typos, spelling errors and to improve grammar...

"All that is gold does not glitter..."

Whisperwindkat,

In Alabama too and a wildlife biologist. Best way to get the beaver tested for animal exposure is to let your vet send it in. The vet is just trying to give you some economical advice since the rabies vacination will cost less than getting the beaver tested. And animal exposure testing is not given the same rush as for people. The info you were given is correct, in that it is extremely unlikely that beaver would have rabies. There are however coon and skunk rabies epidemics that are being fought in Alabama. The DA Wildlife Services is on the front line of this effort and has done numerous vaccine bait drops across Alabama.

KMA1

Thanks everyone. For anyone in Alabama that finds themselves in this situation and out in a remote county with no animal control (or in town with an animal control that doesn't want to be bothered). This is the way to handle it. First, booster your animal. Second, either have your vet (if they will) decapitate the suspect wildlife or you have to do it. The lab won't take the whole carcass. If you do this use all bio precautions....gloves, long sleeves, goggles and yes even mask. Try to decapitate with very little blood spatter, in other words don't just hack at it with a hatchet. Use a sharp knife like you would if you were butchering. Double bag the head (I triple bagged) and place in a box with some cold packs. Label the box with contents, incident, name and phone number. You can take it to the county health department as long as the infectious disease guy is going to be there and pick up that day. They really have no way of holding it and keeping it cool. He will take it to the lab. Or, the state lab in Montgomery is right next door to AUM and you can take the head there. Results are within 24 hours, so we will know something tomorrow and the testing is free. Too bad about all of this because beaver meat sure is some gorgeous meat. Might have to think about finding somebody who has a beaver problem that they want to get rid of. Nice layer of fat too, wonder how nice that soap would have been. Hope that is of help to anyone who runs into this problem in the future. Blessings from the farm, Kat

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Sorry the only place I know of, is in Lexington KY. But I do know that you don't freeze an animal to be necropsied. Good luck!

Oh and here in Lexington, The UK Dept of Ag Coolstream Research Campus charges nothing to necropsy a farm animal, a minimal amount (45$) to do a pet or exotic animal and would most likey not charge in your situation. we are indeed very lucky her in KY.

I run a wildlife control company so from a professional point of view, if you were my client I would tell you to
1) contact either the State Dept. of Ag or a land grand university for your state (Auburn or U of A) concerning getting the head tested
2) if possible, start treatment of your horse. It's cheap insurance in case the beaver is positive
3) take care of the remaining beavers on the property as a safety precaution. Trap them yourself or hire a professional. I can probably refer someone or walk you through trapping them yourself if you need so shoot me a PM.

Years ago a rabid coon attacked our dog who was sleeping on the porch. My husband had to beat it off our dog's face with a shovel then shot it. He called the dog warden in our county and the adjacent county too since we live right near the co. line. There were no recent reported cases in our area at that time. The adjacent county's warden laughed at my husband when he told him that he thought the coon was rabid. Our county's dog warden came and picked up the dead coon. It tested positive for rabies. We didn't have to pay anything for testing. We re-vaccinated our dog and she was fine. We had to keep her tied up for, I think, six weeks. She was up to date on her shots before being bit. My husband shot several more rabid coons after that. We didn't bother to test them but assumed they were all rabid. It was an epidemic that wiped out most of the raccoons in our area.

Hope your horse stays healthy. Rabies is pretty scary!

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"Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee..” --Augustine

I also live in AL and would like to know the results and the area you live :-)

If he'd just been kicked out of the den for new babies, it's too cold to set up a new den in this weather, he was probably seeking a warm place and got stepped on, thus the bite and growling at the horse. And, when you removed the horse, it just left him with the warm place all to himself, so why move? LOL Hopefully, that's all it was and no more will come looking for a winter spot. Good luck and let us know!