DELTONA, Fla. - The Florida Department of Health's Volusia County branch has issued a rabies alert for a specific area of Deltona. The alert is a response to a kitten testing positive for the disease on Tuesday, October 31st.
The affected areas of Deltona are advised to be on alert for the next 60 days. Residents affected are those in the following area:
Pets such as dogs and cats can catch rabies if they haven't been administered their rabies vaccine. Human rabies infections are somewhat rare in the United States, but there's a high mortality rate for those who do not seek immediate medical treatment.
Deltona residents are urged to avoid contact with wild animals such as raccoons, bats, foxes, skunks, otters, bobcats, and coyotes, all of which are potential carriers of the rabies disease. When infected, an organism may exhibit symptoms such as fever, foaming at the mouth, hallucinatoins, and vomiting. Cases are almost always fatal once symptoms begin to appear.
Steps recommended for Deltona residents include updating pets' rabies vaccinations, ensuring pets do not interact with wild animals, not feeding wild animals, and taking measures to prevent bats from entering. Those whose pets have bitten by a wild animal can contac the Volusia Sheriff's Office's animal services division at (386) 248-1777, as well as their veterinarian. People who have been bitten are urged to contact the Florida Department of Health in Volusia County at (386) 274-0634.
