Rabid cat bites Oconeean

DHEC has announced that an Oconee County resident was potentially exposed to rabies last month by a stray cat which tested positive for the disease.  The individual, a Westminster area resident, was bitten January 22 while handling a stray that appeared at the residence. The cat was later euphonized, submitted to DHEC’s laboratory and, three days later, was confirmed to have rabies.  “To reduce the risk of getting rabies, we recommend giving wild and stray animals their space,” said Sandra Craig of DHEC’s Bureau of Environmental Health Services. If you see an animal in need, contact your local animal control office. Rabies is transmitted when saliva or neural tissue of an infected animal is introduced into the body of a healthy person or animal. Exposure can occur through a bite, scratch or contact with infected saliva to open wounds or mucous membranes such as the eyes, nose or mouth,” said Craig.  Keeping your pets up-to-date on their rabies vaccination is one of the easiest and most effective ways you can protect yourself, your family and your pets from this fatal disease.  Hundreds of South Carolinians must undergo preventive treatment for rabies every year due to exposure to a rabid or suspected rabid animal. The cat is the first animal in Oconee County to test positive for rabies in 2017. There have been five confirmed cases of animal rabies statewide this year. In 2016, three of the 94 rabies cases in South Carolina were in Oconee County.