A fox positive for rabies potentially exposed several animals in the Woodson Bridge area of Tehama County.

Contact Tehama County Animal Control if you see an animal behaving strangely or out during the day when it normally comes out only at night, such as bats, skunks, and raccoons.

530-527-3439.

If you have been bitten or exposed to a suspected rabid animal contact Tehama County Health Services Agency Public Health.

530-527-6824.

Stay Safe By Following the Advice Below

Do not handle, feed, or attempt to capture any unfamiliar, stray or wild animals in this area.

If using the Woodson Bridge RV Park, boat docks, or day use areas, keep your animals on a leash and do not let them interact with any wild or unknown animals in these areas.

Teach children not to touch unfamiliar animals, even if they seem friendly.

Wash any wound from an animal thoroughly with soap and water and seek medical attention immediately.

Keep your pet vaccinations current.

Read the Full Public Service Annoucement

For Release: September 14, 2023
Public Service Announcement
Animal Positive for Rabies

Recently, several animals were potentially exposed to rabies after they had encounters with a fox that tested positive for rabies in the Woodson Bridge area in Tehama County including the RV park, boat docks, and day use areas.

• Do not handle, feed, or attempt to capture any unfamiliar/stray/wild animals in this area.
• If using the Woodson Bridge RV Park, boat docks, or day use areas, keep your animals on a leash and do not let them interact with any wild or unknown animals in these areas.
• Teach children not to handle unfamiliar animals, even if they seem friendly. “Love your own, leave other animals alone” is a good principle for children to learn.
• Wash any wound from an animal thoroughly with soap and water and seek medical attention immediately.
• Be a responsible pet owner by keeping pet vaccinations current.
• Contact Tehama County Animal Control if you see an animal behaving strangely or out during the day when it normally comes out only at night, such as bats, skunks, and raccoons at 530-527-3439.
• If you have been bitten or exposed to a suspected rabid animal contact Tehama County Health Services Agency Public Health at 530-527-6824.

Rabies can be a fatal disease that is preventable. It is a viral disease of mammals most often transmitted to humans and other animals from the bite of a rabid animal. The goals are first to prevent human exposure to rabies through education and second to prevent the disease development through vaccination of animals.
The rabies virus infects the central nervous system, including the brain. Early symptoms of rabies in humans include fever, headache, and generally feeling unwell. As the disease progresses, other symptoms appear such as insomnia, anxiety, confusion, slight or partial paralysis, excitation, hallucinations, agitation, drooling, difficulty swallowing, and hydrophobia (fear of water). Death usually occurs within days of the onset of symptoms.

The vast majority of rabies cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) each year occur in wild animals such as bats, raccoons, skunks, and foxes. Domestic animals account for less than 10% of the reported rabies cases with dogs, cattle, and cats most often reported infected. Wild animals, especially bats, are the most common source of human rabies infection in the United States. In Tehama County, rabies in bats is considered to be widespread.
Most people believe that rabid animals can easily be spotted because they drool excessively and foam at the mouth. However, most animals will display these symptoms only in the latter stages of infection, if at all. A better way to identify animals that pose a risk is to recognize unusual or abnormal behavior. Rabid animals, wild or domestic, may stagger, appear restless, be aggressive, change the tone of their barks or growls, or appear to be choking. Wild animals sometimes lose their fear of humans and act friendly. Animals that are usually active at night may become active during the day. Passive animals sometimes become fierce and aggressive.
How is rabies treated?

Some people are afraid to seek treatment for exposure to rabies because they have heard about a long series of painful shots in the stomach. However, this is no longer the case. “Post-exposure” treatment is covered by most health insurance policies and consists of a series of four injections over a two-week period that are administered in the arm. An injection of anti-rabies immunoglobulin is also administered the day of the first vaccination in order to boost the immune system with immediate antibodies to rabies, giving the vaccine time to induce the person’s own antibodies over time.

Most people do not react adversely to the rabies vaccine, but there may be some swelling, redness or soreness at the site of the injection.
The anti-rabies treatment with vaccine and immunoglobulin has proven 100% effective if started within 14 days of exposure.
For more information, contact Tehama County Health Services Agency – Public Health Division (530)527-6824.