Two cases of rabies were found in Chattooga County last week. Earlier this year, Walker County had a confirmed rabies case.  Public health officials are urging pet owners to make sure that pets are up to date with rabies shots.

According to the Georgia Department of Public Health, “Rabies is a viral disease of mammals, usually occurring among wild animals such as raccoons, skunks, bats, and foxes. The rabies virus travels from the site of the bite up through the nerves until it reaches the brain, ultimately causing death.”  Rabies can be transmitted to humans by rabid animals – wild or domestic.  If you suspect you have been bitten by a rabid animal, you should seek help immediately.

Once a human begins to show the symptoms of rabies, it is almost always too late to treat.

While confirmed cases are relatively rare, officials emphasize animal rabies can be found throughout Chattooga County. “Rabies is  always circulating in our wild animal population,” says the Chattooga County Health Department’s Environmental Health Manager Tiffany Schrader.

Schrader cautions residents to avoid wild, stray, and possibly unvaccinated animals that may be infected with rabies and emphasizes residents should take additional precautions to protect themselves, their families, and their pets.  “Getting your pet vaccinated against rabies is the single best way to protect your pet from rabies,” Schrader says.  “It’s important to do it for their protection, for our protection, and because it’s state law.”