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<br /> <br />Animal Services Highlights <br />Page 2 <br /> <br />i. Animal Services refers all exposures and suspected exposures to <br />Communicable Disease Nurses <br />ii. These nurses assess risk and make treatment recommendations <br />d. Because the authority is delegated there is consultation with the Health Director <br />when there are any questions <br />2. Caseload <br />a. We had 242 bite cases last year and in 2015 there were 226. <br />b. We investigated 111 rabies exposures last year and in 2015, we investigated 143. <br />3. Shared Policies and Procedures <br />a. Post-exposure rabies management policy for cats and dogs recently updated <br />b. Policy is based upon general authority of Health Director and recommendations <br />made in the 2016 Rabies Compendium, which changed some longstanding <br />protocols for booster vaccinations and quarantine periods for cats and dogs <br />c. Changes in state law are (finally) expected to be made in this legislative session <br />4. Delegation Agreement <br />a. To date the delegation has been informal rather than written <br />b. A staff attorney is currently working on an agreement to remedy this situation. <br /> <br />Did you know that in the late 1990s Animal Control had a dedicated “rabies line,” that is, a <br />telephone number for residents to call if they had questions about rabies. This was the time <br />when eastern raccoon rabies erupted in the region. In 1997 Orange County had 106 <br />laboratory confirmed rabies cases. <br />Did you know that pets are now “co-located” at Red Cross Emergency Shelters in Orange <br />County using a Companion Animal Mobile Equipment Trailer (CAMET)? Pet co-location was <br />developed by Emergency Services, Animal Services and the Health Department in the <br />aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. <br /> <br />Rabies Prevention <br />1. Conduct of low-cost ($10) rabies vaccination clinics <br />a. One per year required by NCGS <br />b. Ordinarily we offer a dozen or more <br />i. One and 3 year rabies vaccinations are now offered