Rabies kill cows in Orange Walk
Four cases of rabies have been diagnosed in the Orange Walk District and authorities are conducting investigations into the cause. The infected cows have died and according to BAHA’s director of animal health, Victor Gongora, the farming community is being put on alert.
Victor Gongora, Director, Animal Health, BAHA
“These cases were detected after farmers reported having animals that were suspicious. They were down, they were having problems with the animals and they contacted the BAHA in Orange Walk and we have the vet and his assistant who went to see these animals and they decided that they needed to follow up on these cases. They took the brains and we sent them to Panama.”
Jacqueline Woods
“How do you believe these animals may have become infected?”
Victor Gongora
“Right now, we do not know for sure. There is something we call characterization of the virus, and so we have requested from PAHO if they can get the samples in Panama and send them to other labs that can do that characterization. Right now we believe that the virus could have come either from a dog, because on the history, we understand that some dogs attacked one of the cows sometime ago. We also know that we have foxes in the area, and repeatedly we have had positive cases in foxes, so it could also be foxes biting these animals. And the other one is the vampire bat, which is a problem throughout the country especially in Cayo, but we know that we have it in Orange Walk.”
Jacqueline Woods
“What can a farmer do to protect his animal?”
Victor Gongora
“Well, right now we would only like to concentrate where we know we have rabies.”
Jacqueline Woods
“And that is where?”
Victor Gongora
“Shipyard and Blue Creek in the Orange Walk District and at these farms we will be vaccinating the animals at the farm, as well as dogs in the area. Because in cattle it tends to be paralytic kind of rabies and they don’t usually go biting other animals, but if a dog gets it, he tends to wander until he is aggressive and then he can be biting a lot of animals and people, so it is more dangerous for us to have dogs with rabies so we try to vaccinate all the dogs in the area as well.”
The public is strongly advised not to approach, handle or keep as pets, foxes, bats or other wildlife and to report all cases of sick animals to the nearest vet. Prior to this recent outbreak, the last reported case of rabies in Belize occurred in 1999, also in the Orange Walk District.
