«Travel Health Coyote attack in New York raises Rabies scareNews about: United States of America Date: 26 Jan 2010
Source: The Journal News - White Plains, NY [ProMed EDITED]
A coyote attacked a woman, biting her on the arm and leg today [26 Jan 2010], and later went after a pit bull in the area of Travis Hill Park, New York, police said. At about 3:15 p.m., a 56-year-old woman walking along the trails of the woods around Old Tarrytown Road and Wyndover Road, roughly 500 feet west of the Bronx River Parkway, was bitten and scratched by a light tan coyote, officials said. She was taken to White Plains Hospital where she was in stable condition, officials said.
Greenburgh police began searching for the coyote with the help of a Westchester County helicopter, spotting the animal but being unable to catch it, officials said. Later a resident living on Kent Road reported that his pit bull had been attacked by the same coyote, officials said. Sgt. Nick Reckson said the dog was injured but is alive [it was presumably up-to-date with its vaccination. - ProMed Mod.JW]. It's unclear whether the coyote had rabies as the animal remains on the loose, Reckson said.
Residents are advised to report sightings of the coyote and to stay away from it. Pets also should be kept inside and not allowed to run loose outdoors. Garbage should be secured so as to not attract the coyote and other wildlife. [Byline: Hoa Nguyen hnguyen7@lohud.com]
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[Any abnormal behavior by a wild animal is a warning flag that it might be rabid: raccoons, normally seen at dawn and dusk, out in the sunlight; cautious animals hanging around a house or barn. Attacks without provocation on humans, dogs or horses have a 40-50 percent chance of involving a rabid animal. This is a particular concern with coyotes because of their surging population numbers in urban, suburban and rural areas, their large and the damage they can do in an attack.
A common strain in coyotes in New England is the raccoon rabies virus -- this strain is found up and down the whole east coast of the USA. While much attention is aimed at aggressive animals with rabies, one should remember that 'dumb' rabies is in fact more common and people and dogs get bitten when carelessly investigating such a sick animal.
As a veterinarian I have over a number of decades seen them all, which is why I still get regular rabies shots -- which is also why one should make sure that one's dogs and cats get their shots too. Cats love playing with sick bats, and bat rabies is not uncommon, especially in Mexican Freetail bats.
For a longer discussion go to:
<http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/16/2/357.htm>
<http://www.cdc.gov/rabies/epidemiology.html>
Coyote pictures:
<http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/coyote.html> - ProMed Mod.MHJ] Source: ProMed Newsgroup Date: 08-Feb-2010 09:26:06 |
