Rare rabid horse case confirmed in Carroll County

“When the owner went to get the horse out of the pasture on Monday, it bit him,” Hollingsworth said. “When he went to get it out Tuesday night, it attacked him. He said the horse didn’t just attack him, but tried to kill him. When I got there Tuesday night, the horse was in the pasture, chewing on its own leg. Every now and then, the horse would reach over and touch his nose to the electric fence.”

Hollingsworth said he euthanized the horse and sent its head to the state to be tested for rabies.

“They did some preliminary tests on Wednesday and we got the results back Friday that the horse had rabies,” he said.

Hollingsworth said he believes this is the first case of a domestic animal in Carroll County having rabies since the 1950s. It’s the first case he can recall of horse rabies in the area. He speculated that the horse could have gotten the rabies from a bite by a wild, rabid animal, such as a raccoon, fox or bat.

He said the man bitten by the horse is undergoing post-exposure preventive treatment.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, horses account for less than 1 percent of all rabies cases in the United States. In 2010 CDC data, Georgia reported 375 rabies cases, none of which were in horses or mules. In the U.S. during 2010, 6,155 rabies cases were reported, with 37 in horses or mules. The state reporting the largest number of horse cases was Texas with 8.

Rabies is a viral disease that causes acute encephalitis in warm blooded animals and is almost always fatal, once symptoms develop. It is usually transmitted by the saliva in a bite by an infected animal.

The first symptoms of rabies in animals may be nonspecific and include lethargy, fever, vomiting and loss of appetite, according to the CDC. Signs progress within days to weakness, paralysis, seizures, difficulty breathing, difficulty swallowing, excessive salivation, abnormal behavior, aggression and self-mutilation.

Georgia law requires that all pet owners vaccinate their dogs and cats to prevent rabies. Vaccination programs, started in the U.S. in the 1940s, have practically eliminated domestic pets as a rabies source. However, a few species of wild animals serve as reservoirs for the disease, including raccoons, skunks, foxes, coyotes and bats.

The American Association of Equine Practitioners recommends that rabies immunizations begin when a foal reaches six months of age, followed by a booster dose in four to six weeks. Horses should then receive boosters at annual intervals, starting at 10 to 12 months of age. Broodmares should be vaccinated four to six weeks before their delivery dates.