Rabies & Animal Bites

Rabies is an infectious, viral disease that affects the nervous system of humans and other mammals. There is no treatment for rabies after symptoms of the disease appear. Diagnosis of the disease is confirmed when brain tissue is tested after death.

Any mammal – including pets – can get rabies, but people usually get rabies by being bitten by a rabid mammal. The disease is most common in wild mammals such as raccoons, skunks, bats and foxes. Dogs, cats and cattle are the most frequently reported rabid domestic mammals in the United States. Pets can be infected when bitten by a rabid wild mammal. Small rodents such as squirrels, rats, mice, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs and chipmunks rarely get rabies. Bites by these mammals are usually not considered a risk for contracting rabies.

How can I get rabies?
Typically, people contract rabies when they are bitten by a domestic mammal or pet that has acquired rabies from a rabid wild mammal. Vaccinating dogs and cats prevents them from acquiring the disease from other wildlife, and thereby transmitting the disease to humans. It is also possible, but quite rare, to get rabies if infectious material from a rabid mammal, such as saliva, has contact with a person’s eyes, nose, mouth or wound.

What should I do if I think I’ve been exposed to rabies?
If you’ve been bitten by a potentially rabid mammal:

1. Wash the wound thoroughly with soap and water and seek immediate medical attention. A health care provider will care for the wound and assess the risk for rabies exposure.
2. Report the bite to your local Health District. In Hamilton County, but outside the cities of Cincinnati, Norwood and Springdale, report the bite to Hamilton County Public Health’s rabies line at (513) 946-7800.

Note: Any time a person is bitten or scratched by a domestic or wild mammal, the incident must be reported to the local Health District, even if the mammal is a family pet and has up-to-date rabies shots.

Click here to access the Rabies Post-Exposure Risk Assessment tool from the Ohio Department of Health.

What happens if a wild mammal bites my dog or cat?

1. Wash the wound thoroughly with soap and water and report the bite to your veterinarian and the Health District immediately.
2. Identify the type of wild mammal involved in the incident. If possible, capture the wild mammal. Don’t destroy the wild mammal. A good tissue sample of the mammal’s brain is necessary to determine if the mammal was rabid. Keep in refrigeration or on ice, do not freeze.

Protect your pet from rabies:

• Visit your veterinarian with your pet on a regular basis.
• Keep rabies vaccinations up-to-date for cats and dogs.
• Keep cats & ferrets indoors.
• Keep dogs under direct supervision.
• Spay & neuter your pets.
• Report all stray mammals to mammal control.

The law requires all mammal bites and scratches be reported to the presiding Health Department/District, even if the injury is from a family pet that has up-to-date rabies shots. Ohio Administrative Code Section 3701-3-28 provides that biting mammals be quarantined for at least 10 days after an mammal bite occurs. Reporting mammal bites saves mammal bite victims from unnecessary post-exposure rabies treatments.

Where to report a mammal bite?

1. Report the bite to your local Health District. In Hamilton County, but outside the cities of Cincinnati, Norwood and Springdale, report the bite to the Hamilton County General Health District at (513) 946-7800.
2. Legibly complete a copy of the Health District’s Mammal Bite Report Form. Forms need to be as complete as possible. Please contact the Health District immediately if additional or missing information is acquired after submitting the form. Fax the completed form to (513) 946-7891.

What happens after a bite is reported?
Once a reported mammal bite is confirmed, the Health District notifies the mammal’s owner of quarantine rules by sending a Quarantine Letter. Any mammal involved in a mammal bite incident is required by law to be quarantined for at least 10 days after the mammal bite occurred. Quarantine limits the mammal’s contact with other mammals and people, reducing exposure if the mammal involved does have rabies. The quarantine period also allows veterinarians and health officials to observe the mammal for any signs or symptoms associated with the rabies virus. Note: Invisible fences are not considered an adequate means of quarantine.

Until the mammal is released from quarantine, an owner cannot:

• give the mammal away
• kill the mammal
• relocate the mammal outside of Hamilton County

If the mammal becomes aggressive, attacks, loses muscular control, exhibits unusual salivation or dies during the quarantine period, contact the Health District and your veterinarian immediately. If a mammal must be released to an animal shelter, notify the shelter that the mammal is under quarantine by order of Hamilton County Public Health.

Only a licensed veterinarian can release the mammal after the 10-day quarantine period has expired. A veterinarian must examine the mammal, confirm that the mammal has been vaccinated against rabies and sign the Mammal Bite Investigation Form. A signed Mammal Bite Investigation Form must be returned to our office to officially close a mammal bite investigation. The Health District notifies the mammal bite victim as soon as quarantine results are available. Mammal owners and mammal bite victims can always contact the Health District for additional mammal bite/rabies precaution information.

How to tell if a bat is rabid
Rabies can only be confirmed in a laboratory. However, any bat that is active by day, found in a place where bats are not usually seen (a room in your home or on the lawn), or is unable to fly is more likely to be rabid than others. Therefore, it is best never to handle a bat.

Bat bites
If a bat bites you, wash the affected area thoroughly with soap and water and seek immediate medical attention. People usually know when a bat has bitten them. It is recommended to capture a bat for rabies testing if you’ve been sleeping and find a bat in your room; see a bat in the room of an unattended child; or see a bat near a mentally impaired or intoxicated person and no obvious bite wound can be identified.

If you think a bat has bitten your pet or other domestic mammal, isolate the mammal and contact a veterinarian and the Health District.

Capturing a bat:

• Isolate the mammal
• Turn room lights on and wait for the bat to land
• Wear gloves and place a coffee can or similar container over the bat
• Slide a piece of cardboard under the container and tape the container closed
• Contact a licensed animal control operator or licensed veterinarian to have the animal euthanized
• Keep the animal refrigerated or in a cooler with ice packs (DO NOT FREEZE)
• Contact HCPH to set-up delivery or pick-up of the specimen for testing

Bat proofing your home:
Most bats hibernate in the fall and winter. This is the best time to “bat proof” your home. To keep bats out of your home and other buildings:

• carefully examine a building for holes that may allow bat entry
• caulk openings larger than a quarter-inch by a half-inch
• install and maintain window screens and chimney caps
• use draft-guards beneath doors to attics
• fill electrical and plumbing holes with steel wool/caulking
• keep doors to the outside tightly closed

Staff in Hamilton County Public Health’s Environmental Health Division receive and track information concerning biting mammals and work with the Cincinnati Area Veterinarian Association to establish rabies policies such as the quarantine vet-release program.

Click here to download Dealing with Rabies: A Guide for Ohio Veterinarians from the Ohio Department of Health.

Rabies Testing

Any time a person is bitten or scratched by a domestic or wild mammal the incident must be reported to the local Health District. If a mammal involved in a biting or scratching incident is being shipped to the ODH Laboratory, notify the local Health District.

Procedure for shipping a mammal head

1. Call US Cargo, (513) 946-7847 to arrange for rabies specimen pickup. For same day pick up/next day delivery, call the same day. Specimens can be collected and shipped Monday through Friday as ODH Laboratory staff are not available to maintain specimens over the weekend. All specimens must be refrigerated, never frozen, prior to pick up.
2. Complete the Mammal Bite Report Form to submit with specimen. Place form in a Ziploc bag separate from specimen. 
3. Double-bag specimen and place in a container with a cold source.
4. ODH Laboratory charges a $30 fee to test pet/wild rodents (gerbils, hamsters, guinea pigs, mice, rabbits, rats, squirrels, chipmunks, shrews, and moles). Fee must be collected when specimen is picked up. Specimen will not be shipped until fee is collected.
5. Division of Environmental Health will pick up specimen at designated time and location. Ensure that both specimen and Mammal Bite Form are prepared.
6. Once shipped to ODH Laboratory, results may be available the same day or the following day. A call will then be made to relay the results.

Report a Bite

• Mammal bites should be reported immediately to Hamilton County Public Health at (513) 946-7800. Callers may leave a message for Hamilton County Public Health staff and can expect a reply within one business day.
• To fax a bite report : (513) 946-7891.

• Mammal Bite Report Form
• 2014 Rabies Regulation
• 2016 Compendium on Rabies