# Compendium of Animal Rabies Control, 1995 National Association of State Public Health
Veterinarians, Inc.*
The purpose of this Compendium is to provide rabies information to veterinarians, public health officials, and others concerned with rabies control. These recommendations serve as the basis for animal rabies-control programs throughout the United States and also facilitate standardization of procedures among jurisdictions, thereby contributing to an effective national rabies-control program. This document is reviewed annually and revised as necessary. Recommendations for immunization procedures are contained in Part I; all animal rabies vaccines licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and marketed in the United States are listed in Part II; Part III details the principles of rabies control.

# Part I: Recommendations for Immunization Procedures

# A. Vaccine Administration
All animal rabies vaccines should be restricted to use by, or under the direct supervision of, a veterinarian.

# B. Vaccine Selection
In comprehensive rabies-control programs, only vaccines with a 3-year duration of immunity should be used. This procedure constitutes the most effective method of increasing the proportion of immunized dogs and cats in any population. (See Part II.)

# C. Route of Inoculation
All vaccines must be administered in accordance with either the specifications of the product label or the package insert. If administered intramuscularly, vaccine must be administered at one site in the thigh.

# D. Wildlife Vaccination
Parenteral vaccination of captive wildlife is not recommended because the efficacy of rabies vaccines in such animals has not been established and no vaccine is licensed for wildlife. For this reason and because virus-shedding periods are unknown, bats and wild or exotic carnivores should not be kept as pets. Zoos or research institutions may establish vaccination programs that attempt to protect valuable animals, but these programs should not be in lieu of appropriate public health activities that protect humans. The use of licensed oral vaccines for the mass immunization of wildlife should be considered in selected situations, with the approval of the state agency responsible for animal rabies control.

# E. Accidental Human Exposure to Vaccine
Accidental inoculation may occur during administration of animal rabies vaccine. Such exposure to inactivated vaccines constitutes no risk for acquiring rabies.

# F. Identification of Vaccinated Animals
All agencies and veterinarians should adopt the standard tag system. This practice will aid persons who administer local, state, national, and international rabies control procedures. Animal license tags should be distinguishable in shape and color from rabies tags. Anodized aluminum rabies tags should be no less than 0.064 inches in thickness. 4. Adjunct Procedures. Methods or procedures that enhance rabies control include the following: a. Licensure. Registration or licensure of all dogs and cats can be used to aid in rabies control. A fee is frequently charged for such licensure, and revenues collected are used to maintain rabies or animal control programs. Vaccination is an essential prerequisite to licensure. b. Canvassing of Area. House-to-house canvassing by animal control personnel facilitates enforcement of vaccination and licensure requirements. c. Citations. Citations are legal summonses issued to owners for violations, including the failure to vaccinate or license their animals. The authority for officers to issue citations should be an integral part of each animal control program. d. Animal Control. All communities should incorporate stray animal control, leash laws, and training of personnel in their programs. 5. Postexposure Management. Any animal bitten or scratched by a wild, carnivorous mammal (or a bat) not available for testing should be regarded as having been exposed to rabies. a. Dogs and Cats. Unvaccinated dogs and cats exposed to a rabid animal should be euthanized immediately. If the owner is unwilling to do this, the animal should be placed in strict isolation for 6 months and vaccinated 1 month before being released. Dogs and cats that are currently vaccinated should be revaccinated immediately, kept under the owner's control, and observed for 45 days. b. Livestock. All species of livestock are susceptible to rabies; cattle and horses are among the most frequently infected of all domestic animals. Livestock that is exposed to a rabid animal and is currently vaccinated with a vaccine approved by USDA for that species should be revaccinated immediately and observed for 45 days. Unvaccinated livestock should be slaughtered immediately. If the owner is unwilling to do this, the animal should be kept under close observation for 6 months. The following are recommendations for owners of unvaccinated livestock exposed to rabid animals: 1) If the animal is slaughtered within 7 days of being bitten, its tissues may be eaten without risk of infection, provided liberal portions of the exposed area are discarded. Federal meat inspectors must reject for slaughter any animal known to have been exposed to rabies within 8 months. 2) Neither tissues nor milk from a rabid animal should be used for human or animal consumption. However, because pasteurization temperatures will inactivate rabies virus, drinking pasteurized milk or eating cooked meat does not constitute a rabies exposure.

# Rabies
3) It is rare to have more than one rabid animal in a herd or to have herbivoreto-herbivore transmission; therefore; it may not be necessary to restrict the rest of the herd if a single animal has been exposed to or infected by rabies.
c. Other Animals. Other animals bitten by a rabid animal should be euthanized immediately. Such animals currently vaccinated with a vaccine approved by USDA for that species can be revaccinated immediately and placed in strict isolation for at least 90 days. 6. Management of Animals That Bite Humans. A healthy dog or cat that bites a person should be confined and observed for 10 days; it is recommended that rabies vaccine not be administered during the observation period. Such animals should be evaluated by a veterinarian at the first sign of illness during confinement. Any illness in the animal should be reported immediately to the local health department. If signs suggestive of rabies develop, the animal should be humanely killed, its head removed, and the head shipped under refrigeration for examination by a qualified laboratory designated by the local or state health department. Any stray or unwanted dog or cat that bites a person may be humanely killed immediately and the head submitted as described above for rabies examination. Other biting animals that might have exposed a person to rabies should be reported immediately to the local health department. Prior vaccination of an animal may not preclude the necessity for euthanasia and testing if the period of virus shedding is unknown for that species. Management of animals other than dogs and cats depends on the species, the circumstances of the bite, and the epidemiology of rabies in the area.

# C. Control Methods in Wildlife
The public should be warned not to handle wildlife. Wild mammals (as well as the offspring of wild species cross-bred with domestic dogs and cats) that bite or otherwise expose humans, pets, or livestock to rabies should be considered for euthanasia and rabies examination. A person bitten by any wild mammal should immediately report the incident to a physician who can evaluate the need for antirabies treatment.- 1. Terrestrial Mammals. Continuous and persistent government-funded programs for trapping or poisoning wildlife are not cost effective in reducing wildlife rabies reservoirs on a statewide basis. However, limited control in high-contact areas (e.g., picnic grounds, camps, or suburban areas) might be indicated for the removal of selected high-risk species of wildlife.  The MMWR is available on a paid subscription basis for paper copy and free of charge in electronic format. For information about paid subscriptions, contact the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402; telephone (202) 783-3238. For electronic copy, send an e-mail message to lists@list.cdc.gov -the body content should read subscribe mmwr-toc. Electronic copy also is available from CDC's World-Wide Web server at / or CDC's file transfer protocol server at ftp.cdc.gov.
All material in the MMWR Series is in the public domain and may be used and reprinted without permission; citation of source, however, is appreciated. 6U.S. Government Printing Office: 1994-633-175/05057 Region IV