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1� <br /> f <br /> Rabies epidemic spreading <br /> State health officials said last <br /> week that the rabies epidemic — <br /> which began in 1991 —has spread <br /> to 59 of the state's 100 counties. <br /> And there are no signs that it is <br /> slowing down. <br /> State health officials say they <br /> expect to record 1,500 positive <br /> tests this year, up from nine in <br /> 1990. <br /> Far from just a wild animal <br /> problem, rabies, they say, is <br /> creeping into the livestock and <br /> pet population, where contact <br /> with humans is more likely to <br /> occur. <br /> That reality is keeping the <br /> state's front-line agencies for <br /> rabies struggling to keep up and <br /> taxing resources—so much so <br /> that Hunt's proposed budget con- <br /> ktains $100,000 to hire another <br /> state veterinarian and pay for <br /> rabies educational materials. Half <br /> of the money may come from <br /> adding a nickel to the 2.5 cents <br /> that the state charges veterinari- <br /> ans for each pet rabies tag. <br /> For the full version of these <br /> stories,you,can search the <br /> archives on Nando.net,the <br /> N&j's online service,or use <br /> the paper's research service PISYS IQ. <br /> See page 2A for information. <br />