Author Topic: can squirrels carry rabies (Read 6106 times)

C.J · « **on:** October 02, 2004, 04:21:18 AM »

i was wondering if squirrels can carry rabies and if so can it hurt you to eat them

Lawdog · « **Reply #1 on:** October 02, 2004, 10:57:43 AM »

C.J,

You never want to eat any critter that looks like something was wrong/acting out of the norm so to speak. And the answer to the part about 'can a squirrel carry rabies' - YES. Lawdog

crawfish · « **Reply #2 on:** October 02, 2004, 02:11:27 PM »

ANY mammal can carry rabies, horses, goats, sheep, people, and cows, get the idea? The only mammal that there has never been a confirmed case of rabies in is the opossum. In fact there are on going studies that are looking at how the opossum keeps from getting rabies when it eats animals that have died from the disease. Your rabies lesson for the day. :wink:

Mohawk · « **Reply #3 on:** October 03, 2004, 12:51:38 PM »

And to add to Crawfish's correct statement, researchers are finding that it is something related to the marsupial family(possums, kangaroos) that seems to carry the resistance to the virus. And to add, according to the CDC, no animal is a carrier. Any animal that has the disease will die from the disease. Beware of wild animals acting sick or tame.

TScottO · « **Reply #4 on:** October 03, 2004, 01:50:30 PM »

I killed a possum several years ago that had foam dripping from his mouth and was walking small circles in our garden. We never had him tested for anything. I just assumed it was rabies. What diseases are possums known to get that could cause this?

Be Safe,
Scott

Mohawk · « **Reply #5 on:** October 03, 2004, 04:54:53 PM »

TScottO, that sounds like distemper. It is known to cause symptoms similar to rabies, especially in skunks. In fact, it is misdiagnosed as rabies until the lab work is done by many vets. However, distemper is not near as fatal as rabies, which is pretty much 100% once symptoms begin. It is difficult for humans to contract distemper, though dogs, cats, and horses are quite vulnerable. ........OR......... :gulp:

Doc T · « **Reply #6 on:** October 03, 2004, 05:09:49 PM »

I have to disagree with some of the above posts. Squirrels (and other rodents) do NOT carry rabies. It has been a long time since I worked in an ER, but we never advised patients who had been bitten by rats to get rabies immunizations. To make sure, I looked it up before I stuck my foot in my mouth.
As far as eating squirrels, as long as they are cleaned and cooked properly, you won't get anything from them, as long as you don't eat the brains. Believe it or not, some people do. You can get slow viruses from any neural tissue (squirrel or any other mammal) even if it is cooked thouroughly. Symptoms may take years to start, hence the term SLOW viruses. Basically it is the same thing as Mad Cow Disease, "Gid" in sheep, and Jakob-Crutzfeld disease in humans.

Mohawk · « **Reply #7 on:** October 03, 2004, 06:36:09 PM »

I have to disagree DocT. ANY warm-blooded animal can contract rabies. Marsupials, technically can get it also, but natural infection seems to not happen.True, rodents are less suseptible, they are vulnerable. Biology majors at universities often take pre-exposure rabies vaccines before conducting lab work envolving mice and rats. Curious to know where you looked this up. Woodchucks(Rodent) accounted for 368 cases within their species within only several years. There are no KNOWN cases of rodent transmission to humans but the word ALMOST is stated when referring to rodents as having the disease. But stating that they can NOT carry it, as in the Woodchuck, is highly inaccurate. Link below.

www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/rabies/natural_history/nathist.htm

Doc T · « **Reply #8 on:** October 04, 2004, 08:37:01 AM »

Please accept my apologies. I have checked another reference that I have in my office. In Harrison's "Principles of Internal Medicine", it clearly states "Rabies is an acute viral disease that affects all mammals and that is transmitted by infected secretions, usually saliva". I guess I did stick my foot in my mouth, after all.

Mohawk · « **Reply #9 on:** October 04, 2004, 10:37:13 AM »

Didn't mean to flame DocT. I've just done tons of research on the disease through school. It is probably the only disease that I know about. And interestingly enough, there have been over 50,000 cases confirmed in raccoons in the US, but only one human has contracted the raccoon variant of the virus. Talk about luck. It is mostly the silver-haired bat or Mexican Free-Tail bat that infects humans.

Lawdog · « **Reply #10 on:** October 04, 2004, 10:50:19 AM »

The reason "bats" are the number cause of rabies cases in humans is foolish people come along and see a little bat that looks hurt and they pick it up, getting bit for their trouble. Too many people don't tell their kids not to touch animals that they find. That was one lesson we rammed into our kids/grandkids heads more than any other I believe. I have never been through or seen what the vaccination process is for rabies but just hearing about it is enough. Lawdog

Mohawk · « **Reply #11 on:** October 04, 2004, 01:02:46 PM »

That's correct. It happened near here the other day, by adults. They brought a bat to a vet thinking it was injured. For whatever reason they dropped it off and left. Well, they ran the test and it tested positive for the virus after it died and they contacted the news networks to try and find the persons who found the animal. The last case study I read was a 13 yr. old boy that found a sick bat by a nearby lake. Unfortunately, it was not reported and the boy died about 7weeks after infection. While studying this disease I've realized that it is horrible. Symptoms in people appear to be similar to animals. And bats seem to be the predominate reservoir host for the virus when people are exposed. My wife was raised in Northern California and she told me of an outbreak up there years ago and admits she wasn't careful enough around bats. She lived in the area of a rather large colony. Only six persons have been known to survive the symptomatic stages, but all six received pre- and post- exposure injections. Without treatment the death rate, as reported, is 100%.

Lawdog · « **Reply #12 on:** October 05, 2004, 09:19:14 AM »

In 1961 as a freshman in high school there was a out break of rabies in Northern California. Members of local clubs like the Lions Club, Elks and others were formed to hunt certain areas where the rabies outbreak was reported(right behind the high school. They closed the high school for a week while they killed everything from bats to bobcats. The sheriffs department reported that over 65% of the animals killed were found to be infected. And they killed a lot of animals. Lawdog

Mohawk · « **Reply #13 on:** October 05, 2004, 03:48:47 PM »

Yep, my wife is from the shores of Shasta Lake. She said they had problems with the bats in the '80's in that area.

lmc · « **Reply #14 on:** January 22, 2006, 05:26:23 AM »

Hi ya'll i was just wondering about the post about eating squirrel brains because my uncle cooks the heads with the body :shock: but he only eats the jaw meat, could he still get the virus because he eats the gravy. thanks

popplecop · « **Reply #15 on:** February 04, 2006, 07:22:30 AM »

Years back the state of Ill. examined several thousand squirrels for diferent diseases including rabies. They did not find any signs of rabies in any squirrels, not saying it doesn't happen, but looks like the odds are slim. I said several thousand I believe of the years of the study it was close to 10,000 squirrels, I've been out of the field for so may years don't know where to locate that study anymore.

onecoyote · « **Reply #16 on:** February 24, 2006, 08:37:49 AM »

Technically speaking, all mammals are susceptible to rabies even a whale. Being aquatic, whales stand a very small chance of contracting it. Rabies is about body temperature. The lower the body temperature, the less the mammal is at risk. An example of this is the Opossum with a body temperature of 93 degrees. The average dog, on the other hand has a temperature of 102 and they have documented multiple cases of canine rabies. Bats have an even higher metabolic rate and temperature and they have been known throughout history as the major carrier of the disease. Outstanding thread.

outdoorman · « **Reply #17 on:** March 08, 2006, 05:43:54 PM »

Funny, but we had a woman come into the medical office where I work in Georgia last week for squirrel bites to the hand. Apparently the squirrel was raiding her bird-feeder so she attemped to scare it off her deck. As she approached within four feet of the squirrel yelling and trying to scare it off, it stood it's ground before leaping onto her shoulder and biting her hand as she pulled it off. It was the first time anyone in the office had ever encountered a squirrel bite so we broke out the books.
Our medical texts confirm that squirrels can in fact carry rabies, but that it is very rare (perhaps few squirrels survive attacks from larger rabid predators). Our biggest dilemma was whether to give her rabies vaccine or not. The CDC recommended against it, while the state health dept. recommended for it (or vice versa).

kombi1976 · « **Reply #18 on:** May 21, 2006, 01:42:10 PM »

Quote

Can squirrels carry rabies?

Only if it's a very small dog. :mrgreen:

prairie_boy · « **Reply #19 on:** February 15, 2007, 09:46:49 AM »

...is also an issue once in a while.

Occasional cases of plague in the US have been linked to contact with squirrels in campgrounds, etc, and I believe that the plague bacteria has been isolated from both quirrels and the fleas they carry.

It is very RARE, and is readily treatable with antibiotic drugs if diagnosed early.

Saloon slug · « **Reply #20 on:** April 18, 2007, 10:33:23 AM »

Southern California Has a case of plague every couple years transmitted by fleas living on ground squirrels.

manofthe45 · « **Reply #21 on:** April 18, 2007, 03:27:05 PM »

Quote from: Mohawk on October 03, 2004, 04:54:53 PM

TScottO, that sounds like distemper. It is known to cause symptoms similar to rabies, especially in skunks. In fact, it is misdiagnosed as rabies until the lab work is done by many vets. However, distemper is not near as fatal as rabies, which is pretty much 100% once symptoms begin. It is difficult for humans to contract distemper, though dogs, cats, and horses are quite vulnerable. ........OR......... :gulp:

Distemper or rabies if it is acting funny kill it. Rabies shots isn't something I'd wish on my worst enemy. Try to do it without harming the brain so that it can be checked.

jamaldog87 · « **Reply #22 on:** April 23, 2007, 06:33:15 AM »

can squirrels carry rabies? yes, but there only been one time that they found one that did. Out of 10,000 squirrels there might be one that has rabies. I looked it up a long time ago when i got some blood from a coon on a open cut. but squirrels for the most part don't have rabies but like all things in life it could happen. That why now all coons i kill i use a spear to move the bodys and sit fire to all that i kill because i kill them only for pest control.