The Washoe County Health District and Washoe County Regional Animal Services will hold a forum on Wednesday night concerning the importance of rabies vaccination and pet licensing.
Rabies is a deadly virus that is spread to people from the saliva of infected animals. The rabies virus is usually transmitted through an animal bite or scratch. Washoe County says the animals most likely to transmit the rabies virus in Washoe County include bats, coyotes, foxes, raccoons and skunks. From 2010 to 2014, the State of Nevada confirmed 54 rabies cases in bats, one bovine and one dog. Of the 56 cases state wide, 29 rabies positive bats were from Washoe County.
By combining resources, the WCHD and WCRAS hope to increase the health and well being of people through the promotion of vaccination and licensing of pets.
The community forum starts at 6 p.m. inside the Washoe County Health District’s conference room at 1001 East. 9th St., Building B.
On March 17, 2015, the WCHD and WCRAS entered into an MOU to provide and administer a county-wide rabies health program. This program manages possible rabies exposures and provides a reporting process to transmit rabies vaccination history to both agencies. The program also ensures all pets within Washoe County are vaccinated for rabies and licensed in accordance with WCC 55.340 and 55.350.
