Rabies cases continue to grow in Northeast Texas

From Staff Reports

August 1, 2002 -- More cases of rabies have been reported in Northeast Texas, and pet owners are again urged to have their pets vaccinated against the disease. A pet which contracts rabies can pass it to humans, according to the Texas Department of Health (TDH).

Dr. James Wright, veterinarian with TDH's regional office in Tyler, commented last month that "Wood County is really starting to have a lot of rabid skunks." The county reported a rabid coyote in July as well.

On July 4, 2002, around noon, a homeowner who lives east of Mineola said two dogs fought and killed a skunk under their front porch. Testing confirmed the skunk had rabies.

Then, on July 18, a homeowner who lives in the suburbs of Mineola, took his elderly dog outside. The old dog was attacked by a skunk.

The homeowner beat the skunk with a broom handle, and shot it twice with a shotgun. The deputy sheriff also shot it twice with a riot shotgun.

"The skunk did not die," Wright said. "The owner went and got his .22 rifle and shot twice more. The skunk still did not die. Finally, the homeowner held the skunk down and the deputy dispatched it with another shot."

In spite of the artillery barrage directed at the skunk, its head was not injured so badly that it could not be tested for rabies. It tested positive for rabies.

Also in Wood County, on July 21, a neighbor to the above-mentioned homeowner killed a skunk, which tested positive for rabies.

"Between July 18 and 22, the homeowner and his neighbor have killed seven skunks in their adjoining backyards," Wright said. Two tested positive for rabies, but some of the others also exhibited symptoms indicating they were rabid.

Earlier in the month, on July 2, dogs belonging to a homeowner in Trinity County, who lives between Kennard and Apple Springs, killed a skunk which tested positive for rabies.

On July 5 in Trinity County, a skunk went under a shed and attacked a mother dog and her puppies in the Woodlake community. The skunk's carcass was pulled from under the shed by the mother dog. The skunk tested positive for rabies.

In Smith County, on July 11, a dead skunk found in the yard of a home northwest of Tyler, tested positive for rabies.