"Compendium of Animal Rabies Control, 1998
National Association of State Public Health Veterinarians, Inc.

Part III: Rabies Control
A. Principles of Rabies Control
2. Domestic Animals: Local governments should initiate and maintain effective programs to ensure vaccination of all dogs, cats and ferrets and to remove strays and unwanted animals.
B. Control methods in Domestic and Confined Animals
1. Preexposure Vaccination and Management
(a) Dogs, Cats and Ferrets
All dogs, cats and ferrets should be vaccinated against rabies at 3 months of age and revaccinated in accordance with Part II of this Compendium. If a previously vaccinated animal is overdue fo a booster, it should be revaccinated with a single dose of vaccine and placed on an annual or triennial schedule depending on the type of vaccine used.

2. Stray Animals
Stray dogs, cats or ferrets should be removed from the community. Local health departments and animal control officials can enforce the removal of strays more effectively if owned animals are confined or kept on a leash. Strays should be impounded for at least 3 days to give owners sufficient time to reclaim animals and to determine if human exposure has occured.

3. Quarantine
(b) Interstate. Prior to interstate movement, dogs, cats, and ferrets should be currently vaccinated against rabies in accordance with the Compendium's recommendations (see B.1. Preexposure Vaccination and Management). Animals in transit should be accompanied by a currently valid NASPHV Form #51, Rabies Vaccination Certificate.

4. Adjunct Procedures
Methods or procedures which enhance rabies control include:
(a) Licensure. Registration or licensure of all dogs, cats and ferrets may be used to aid in rabies control. A fee is frequently charged for such licensure and revenues collected are used to maintain rabies and animal control programs. Vaccination is an essential prerequisite to licensure.

5. Postexposure Management
ANY ANIMAL BITTEN OR SCRATCHED BY A WILD, CARNIVOROUS MAMMAL OR A BAT THAT IS NOT AVAILABLE FOR TESTING SHOULD BE REGARDED AS HAVING BEEN EXPOSED TO RABIES.
(a) Dogs, Cats and Ferrets
Unvaccinated dogs, cats and ferrets exposed to a rabid animal should be euthanized immediately. If the owner is unwilling to have this done, the animal should be placed in strict isolation for 6 months and vaccinated 1 month before being released. Animals with expired vaccinations need to be evaluated on a case by case basis. Dogs, cats and ferrets that are currently vaccinated should be revaccinated immediately, kept under the owner's control, and observed for 45 days.

6. Management of Animals that Bite Humans
"A healthy dog, cat or ferret that bites a person should be confined and observed for 10 days; it is recommended that rabies vaccine not be administered during the observation period. Such animals should be evaluated by a veterinarian at the first sign of illness during confinement. Any illness in the animal should be reported immediately to the local health department. If signs suggestive of rabies develop, the animal should be euthanized, its head removed, and the head shipped under refrigeration (not frozen) for examination of the brain by a qualified laboratory designated by the local or state health department. Any stray or unwanted dog, cat or ferret that bites a person may be euthanized immediately and the head submitted as described above for rabies examination. Other biting animals which might have exposed a person to rabies should be reported immediately to the local health department. Prior vaccination of an animal may not preclude the necessity for euthanasia and testing if the period of virus shedding is unknown for that species. Management of animals other than dogs, cats and ferrets depends on the species, the circumstances of the bite, the epidemiology of rabies in the area, and the biting animal's history, current health status, and potential for exposure to rabies."

The 1998 Compendium was received with a cover letter dated December 1, 1997, from Dr. Jenkins which explained the Compendium changes from 1997 to 1998. The portion of the cover letter pertaining to ferrets is quoted below: "In Part III: Rabies Control, ferrets are now included with dogs and cats in all recommendations regarding vaccination, removal of strays, preexposure vaccination and management, interstate movement, licensure, postexposure management, and management of animals that bite humans. These changes were unanimously agreed to by the committee after hearing a report on the final rabies viral study on ferrets in which a variety of bat rabies virus strains were used to infect ferrets (see addendum #1)" [Not included in this post] "Also in Part III, the statement "in areas where rabies is epidemic," was removed from B.1.(b) Livestock and 2. Stray Animals because the committee agreed the recommendations in these two sections applied whether rabies was epidemic or not."

"Changes were also made to Part III. B.5.(c) which refers to the postexposure management of other animals. A sentence which addressed animals currently vaccinated with a vaccine approved for use in that species was removed because the only species to which it applied was the ferret. A sentence was added to address special situations where valuable animals are routinely maintained in well managed confinement."