East Texas

By COSHANDRA DILLARD
Staff Writer

The Texas Department of State Health Services is urging Texans to be careful during September and October, months they say have the highest number of confirmed rabies cases in the state, but officials at the Northeast Texas Public Health District say that trend is not typical of the Tyler area.

TDSHS officials last week said there were 114 rabies cases reported in September 2007 -- 969 for the year. In 2006, there were 120 cases in September and 109 in October.

Shawn Markmann, director of Tyler animal/mosquito control, said reports of rabies in East Texas usually come in late spring and early summer. Last year, 39 animals tested positive for rabies in the 35-county East Texas region. Two were confirmed in Tyler and occurred in early August.

Markmann attributes low instances of rabies here to a low-er bat population and aggressive animal vaccination laws.

"We are really proactive in our vaccination program," Markmann said. "The state says you have to vaccinate your pet every three years. In Smith County, it is every year. To keep people healthy, we have to keep our pets healthy. That's kind of a barrier."

He said that, of the 183 animals sent for rabies testing, about half of those were sent before June and about 75 were bats.

The department sent the 184th animal -- a bat -- to a laboratory to be tested for rabies on Wednesday. It will take one to two days to get the results, he said.

He said the state's average of verified rabid cases is 10-12 percent, while it is 4 percent in Tyler.

There have been two reports of rabid bats in Tyler this year. The most recent case was reported July 3 and was found in the 9100 block of Cherokee Trail. The first was a bat found near Dawson Street and Baxter Avenue in March.

Markmann said it is important to remember to stay away from wild animals and report any animal that is sick.