Louisiana reports its first rabies case in a dog since 2014

A dog in Acadiana has been diagnosed with rabies, state health department officials confirmed Friday, marking the first canine case of the disease in Louisiana in more than 10 years. 

Rabies has been relatively rare in Louisiana dogs over the past 20 years, with only five confirmed cases in the state over that time period. The case that the Louisiana Department of Health confirmed Friday is the first in the state since 2014. 

While rare among dogs, wildlife such as bats and skunks carry the virus and can pass it on to household pets and domesticated animals. It’s spread through bites or scratches from an infected animal. 

The Louisiana infection comes as rabies cases across the country are on the rise. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a health advisory on Thursday for localities across the country after a spike in rabies cases over the summer, citing increased “reports of animal exposures and rabies post-exposure vaccinations.”

Rabies is nearly always fatal to humans after symptoms start, but complications are preventable if the infected person is treated soon after being infected. Fewer than 10 people in the U.S. die from the virus every year, according to the CDC. Most contract the disease from bats, and three of every four Americans live in a community where rabies is present. 

The virus travels to the brain from an infected wound, with an incubation period of weeks to months before symptoms can begin. Early symptoms include fever, flu-like illness and an itching or prickling sensation at the location of the bite or scratch. Severe rabies symptoms include anxiety, hallucination and intense thirst paired with panic in the presence of liquids. 

Despite the virus causing near total fatality once it progresses to a late stage, there is a vaccine that prevents rabies from taking hold of both people and animals. People can take additional caution to prevent rabies by avoiding wildlife, vaccinating pets and seeking urgent medical care after being bitten by an animal that could be rabid. 

Louisiana law requires dogs, cats and ferrets over 3 months old to get a rabies vaccine from a licensed veterinarian. The state has reported an average of six rabies cases in animals each year since 2000, mainly in wildlife.

If someone is bitten, scratched or otherwise exposed to an animal with suspected rabies, health officials urge them to immediately wash the wound with soap and water before seeking medical care.