The Big Apple is staring down a problem it has n’t seen in close to eight years : rabid raccoons in Manhattan .
TheNew York City Department of Health and Mental Hygienesaid Friday that officials have identified four raccoons with hydrophobia around Inwood Hill Park since the start of the twelvemonth . The wellness department is now advising residents in the orbit to make trusted that pets are up to appointment with vaccination .
“ hydrophobia is a serious malady that poses a risk for you and your deary , ” Health Commissioner Oxiris Barbot read in astatement . “ Keep a faithful eye on your pets when you take them outside and if you see a wild beast — such as a racoon — conserve a safe space and do not approach it . Get your pets immunise against rabies , and if you cogitate they ’ve been bitten by a rabid brute , call 311 . ”
While the officials have reported the rare rabid bat on the island in recent years , there have n’t been any reports of rabid raccoons on the island since 2011 , when the city cover findingwell over 100 rabid raccoonsduring the prior twelvemonth . While they ’ve been describe in neighboring boroughs , the metropolis ’s trap - and - button effort at the time led to the vaccination of roughly 500 of Manhattan ’s raccoons and has managed to keep the emergence under ascendance since .
the great unwashed as well as PET can become infected with hydrophobia , and it can be fatalif not immediately treated . TheCenters for Disease Control and Preventionnotes that symptom in humans can mirror those of the flu , admit headache , fever , and weakness . During the last outbreak , which began in 2009 , five people and two dogs wereexposed to rabies(though they were treated , and rabies developed in neither the people nor the brute ) .
The health section advises New Yorkers to call the city ’s non - emergency line in the upshot that they suspect an animal is grim or if it seems “ disoriented or unusually placid or aggressive . ” It also advise that pet be fed indoors and that animals not be left out of doors without supervising . andiron parks are safe , the health department articulate , but animals should otherwise be keep on three while outside .
In a statement , Senator Robert Jackson — who represents Manhattan ’s 31st District — urged residents of the island with PET “ to verify their animals are up to date on their vaccines . stay put alert when enjoy our beautiful parking area , and if you see a tempestuous animate being represent strangely , leave the sphere and call 311 . ”
[ NYC HealthviaCNN ]
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