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Tx Trigger wrote:
> Not sure why anyone would encourage a skunk to hang around ones house, 
> and even PET them when they are know to be one of the main rabies 
> carriers. Why risk ones family, and other animals? Looks like Colorado 
> is actually doing a skunk surveillance program due to recent rabies 
> issues.

Yes, a rabid skunk was recently discovered in eastern Colorado, the 
first in about 30 years.
http://denver.yourhub.com/Littleton/Stories/News/General-News/Story~502078.aspx 
<http://denver.yourhub.com/Littleton/Stories/News/General-News/Story%7E502078.aspx>
Carla Richardson
Colorado



Yes, TX, Carla answered that question for me. There HASN'T been rabies 
in Colorado in about 30 years so though there is a risk, it HAD been 
considered minimal. And still is. But it now has been documented so the 
"heads-up" is out there. One reason I haven't chosen to live trap her 
and take her somewhere else is that she is a great "rodent control" 
expert and has kept the mouse population down when I have so much grain 
around for the other critters. She also has "one up" on my mouser house 
cat, as I get pretty upset with the "belled" domestic cat for killing as 
many songbirds, baby squirrels and rabbits as she does, as well as the 
mice. At least the skunk doesn't proudly bring them into the house, spit 
them out and torture them to death in front of me. I've certainly wanted 
to "relocate" the cat more times than the skunk. I also am in the middle 
of nowhere with no neighbors really, for a couple of miles, so the skunk 
hanging around my home isn't risking the "neighbors". This is the 
mountains and there are plenty of free roaming wild skunks. She's 
nocturnal and has never created any issues, damage, or ever sprayed so 
I've chosen to just leave her be. They ARE mustelids and there ARE 
vaccines out there, both oral and injectable for rabies that can be 
used, but again, these vaccines are not a sure guarantee on a 
non-domestic wild animal and can also actually "trigger" the virus and 
GIVE them rabies. After reading about this recent rabies incident here 
in Colorado, though I wont relocate her, I may close off the cat door so 
the skunk can't come in.

Melissa Margetts
Telluride Colorado
If you're not livin on the edge, you're takin up too much space.

There are 3+/- human rabies fatalities a year per the CDC:
*Human Rabies*

In this century, the number of human deaths in the United States 
attributed to rabies has declined from 100 or more each year to an 
average of 2 or 3 each year. Two programs have been responsible for this 
decline. First, animal control and vaccination programs begun in the 
1940's and oral rabies vaccination programs in the 2000?s have 
eliminated domestic dogs as reservoirs of rabies in the United States. 
Second, effective human rabies vaccines and immunolglobins have been 
developed . All human cases in the United States since 1990 are 
summarized in the Table of Human Rabies Cases from 1995- 2006 
<http://www.cdc.gov/rabies/epidemiology.html#table1>. The case histories 
of the ten most recent deaths can be found using the links below.

   * Puerto Rico ? 2003
   * California ? 2003
     <http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5302a4.htm>
   * Florida ? 2004 <http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5431a2.htm>
   * Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas (Transplant Associated Rabies) ? 2004
     <http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5326a6.htm>
   * Wisconsin (survivor) ? 2004
     <http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5350a1.htm>
   * California ? 2004
   * Mississippi ? 2005
     <http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5508a4.htm>
   * Texas ? 2006
   * Indiana ? 2006 <http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5615a1.htm>
   * California ? 2006
     <http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5615a1.htm>



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