The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1943-07-08

his column.
as It is in my own locality, | don't
wonder that it might be the cause
Of concern. Owners who cannot
get meat or cannot afford meat or
dog feed and are too kind hearted
to do away with the dogs simply
dump them out some place. The
Union Depot in my home town has
mad a succession Of stray dogs
sleeping in the lobby for the past
six months.
A general practitioner in a
smaller town nearby says that
there is really an epidemic Of ny
steria over hydrophobla on ae-
count Of the stray dog situation
and suggests that q word from a
physician or public health official
would help to clarity the situation.
He says that he knows Of more
than 80 people who are taking the
Pasteur treatment as the result OF
having been near two pups-snd
the pups did not have hydropho-
bia.
HydrOphobia Rare Disease
Two or three things can be said
very definitely. In the first place,
hvdrophobia is a rare disease even
among dogs. Just because a dog
is a stray or nervous or bad tenn
pered is no reason TO think that
he is carrying hydrophobia. 1t is
even rarer in human beings.
Only about 30 per cent OF dogs
whe are actually bitten by another
mad dog develop rabies. And If
100 people were actually bitten by
rabid dog SO that the virus en-
tered the skin, only about 10 per
cent of them would become in
fected.
In the second place. in order for
infection TO occur the skin must
be broken and infective material
from the dogs saliva enter the
wound. The skin, Of course, is usu-
ally broken by the dogs bite. But
here again there is a sort OF pre-
ventive instituted by Nature, be-
cause when the saliva is heav-
lily infected, the dog has usually
reached the paralytic stage so that
his jaw muscles are paralyzed and
he cannot bite.
Avoid PettinE Sick Dogs
Some people have exposed them
seives by petting q sick dog when
they have an open cut and the
dogs saliva has drooled on this
cut. Here is another piece Of com
mon sense which points toward
prevention, which is; do not han
die stray, sick dogs. In fact, do not
handle a sick dog at all even il it is
your own until you know what is
the matter with it.
Still another piece of comfort Is
that even il infection occurs in a
human being, prevention is pretty
certain with the Pasteur treat
ment. This treatment can be be-
gun even several days or weeks
after the bite has occurred and
still be perfectly effective. A full
course of this treatment reduces
the possibility Of the disease de-
veloping in a person who has been
bitten by mad dog from 10 per
cent, as mentioned above, TO less
than y of l per cent.
Local treatment Of the wound
is also advisable-opening it up,
it and csuterizing 1t.
Danger Minimized
This is not meant to minimize
a hazard in a foolish way. Ma
turAlly the stray dog should be
handled by the public health au-
thorities and probably in tho
present state Of the dog food prob
lem it is humane to do away with
them. But with our present seien-
tlfic knowledge, the actual danger
can reasonably be minimized.
The proper procedure in anyone
who is exposed to a bite Of a dog
which may be rabid is 70 have the
dog sent to a veterinary. killed,
and the brain examined under the
microscope. This certainly deter
mines whether the animal has
hydrophobia or not After that
there is time to decide whether to
take the Pasteur treatment or not
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
J. s.: Is it in any way harm
full to eat ice? | have been told
1t was an indication of cancer.
Answer: No, it is not harmful
and 1t is not an indication of can
GER.