Page A6 Berthoud Weekly Surveyor August 30, 2012

ZoeySam Kleber

More anthrax and rabies cases this year

IzziKate Swim and Dan Candee

NavajoJohn and Susan Krueger

By Kathleen DonnellyThe Surveyor

For ranchers, anthrax is nothing new, and a recent outbreak in Logan County is a reminder that the bacte-ria is in the soil. Likewise, rabies is also not a new virus, but this year an increase of rabies in Larimer County serves as a reminder to keep domestic animals vaccinated.

Anthrax was introduced to the soil in Colorado and surrounding states during a cattle drive around 1860. Two of the more well-known trails include the Goodnight Loving Trail that came over Raton Pass and followed the I-25 corridor, and the Chism Trail. Dur-ing the cattle drive infected animals would become sick and die. Not know-ing what caused the animals’ deaths,

the carcasses were left and not prop-erly disposed of. This meant that the bacteria became part of the soil and formed spores. These spores can cause outbreaks in cattle herds, affecting hu-mans and other livestock such as sheep and horses.

“Many states in the west have an-thrax cases primarily in the summer,” said Hana Van Campen, a researcher and faculty member of Colorado State University’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. “It’s hard to say why it flares up, but it could be that drought forced the animals to graze in another portion of the pasture, prairie dogs dug new holes and brought it to the surface, or even bulls that paw can inhale the spores from the dust they create. It’s been a dry summer, so the cattle could have kicked up more dust.”

According to Van Campen the natu-ral form of the bacteria is susceptible to antibiotics, making anthrax easy to treat if diagnosed in time. There are also vaccines available and currently in use for surrounding cattle herds in the Logan County area where the outbreak occurred. The key to treatment is a quick diagnosis of the disease.

“Most animals, such as cattle that die, wouldn’t be necropsied, but these cattle were because of the number found dead. Most of the time the

suspect is some sort of toxin like a poisonous plant or lead poisoning from a battery. Once we knew that it was anthrax, rapid tests were ordered,” said Van Campen.

Besides anthrax, Northern Colorado has had a record number of positive rabies cases this year, especially in the Larimer County area. Drought could also be a factor in this, although there is no concrete proof.

“Every year we have bat rabies, but the difference this year is the skunk ra-bies. The skunks are carrying a strain of rabies found in Kansas skunks. I would guess that the skunks are follow-ing the drier river beds and coming in via the Platte, Arkansas and Republi-can Rivers,” said Van Campen.

Rabies is a viral disease transmitted by an infected animal biting another animal or human. The virus incubates for a couple weeks and eventually ef-fects the brain which causes aggressive or unusual behavior.

“The animal will become aggressive and exhibit strange behaviors. I heard of a skunk attacking a laundry basket once, another spraying cars passing by the side of the road and, of course, at-tacking domestic animals such as dogs. Skunks are nocturnal animals, so if you see one during the day, that is abnor-mal behavior,” said Van Campen.

Cases of rabies in skunks and rac-coons have been confirmed in Fort Collins, Wellington, Ault and Foothills Campus. A bison at the university was confirmed to have rabies.

Bats are a continued risk to carry rabies, and bites can be very small and hard to detect.

Van Campen recommended seeking medical attention for any human that has come into contact with a bat.

“Unvaccinated animals are sus-ceptible, so I make the plea to animal owners to get their animals vaccinated. The vaccines cover all strains found in North American and is an easy way to prevent this virus,” said Van Campen.

For more information regarding rabies and anthrax visit the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment website at: www.cdphe.state.co.us. Animal owners can find out more information at the Colorado State Veterinarian website at: http://www.colorado.gov/ag.

PrefontaineSue and Dana Brungardt

DubChelsey and Macy

LegoFor adoption at the Larimer County

Humane Society

SocksChris Dostal

By Dr. Cecily Lyon Emergency veterinarian

If you love flowers and have cats at home, please read this article before purchasing your next bouquet. Al-though flowers can be a beautiful addition to your home, many bouquets include lilies, which can cause kidney failure and death in cats. Members of the lily family include day lilies, Easter lilies, tiger lilies, Japanese showy lilies, and basically any other lily variety with similar appearance to these. Lilies can

be found in most mixed-flower bouquets at grocery stores and florists.

Rapid kidney failure can occur even if a small amount is chewed or eaten. The leaves and stem are the most toxic and are, unfortunately, the parts that cats usually like to chew. The toxic mechanisms of the lily are unknown, but have been shown to damage the part of the kidney that makes urine. When this area is damaged, kid-neys are unable to produce adequate amounts of urine and may stop produc-ing urine altogether. Toxins build up in the blood and can be fatal if untreated.

It is important to bring your cat to a veterinarian as soon as possible if you witness him chewing on lilies, even if he is showing no signs of illness. Unfor-tunately, the window for early inter-vention is often missed. Cats will often vomit for several hours after exposure and can then show virtually no signs of disease until severe kidney failure is present. Signs of acute kidney failure

can take one to four days to develop and include vomiting, lethargy, inappe-tence, low urine production, inability to urinate and death.

The earlier your veterinarian is able to intervene, the better chance your cat has of recovering. If treatment is started within 18 hours of ingestion, chances of survival are much better. If treatment is delayed beyond 18 hours after ingestion, chances of recovery are poor and death can occur within three to six days. There are no toxic screening tests available to diagnose lily toxicosis. Diagnosis is usually made based on history of lily exposure, physi-cal exam, and confirmation of kidney failure on blood work. If lilies were re-cently ingested, your veterinarian may attempt to induce vomiting and admin-ister activated charcoal to bind excess toxin and prevent further absorption. If your cat is showing signs of disease, he will likely need hospitalization for aggressive intravenous fluid adminis-tration, blood work monitoring, gastro-intestinal protective therapy and other medications. In severe cases, dialysis or kidney transplant are sometimes

performed, but can be extremely costly. Although damaged kidneys have the potential for recovery, severe kidney failure often results in death/euthana-sia, even with aggressive treatment in place.

To help prevent exposure, avoid bringing this plant into your house, yard, or anywhere else your cat likes to roam. Checking with a florist before purchasing flowers, ridding your yard of lilies, and educating friends and family about this potential risk are all great preventative measures. The next time you’re at the florist, grocery store, or out in the garden, please think twice before bringing these lovely but deadly flowers into your home.

AMVS is a 24-hour veterinary facil-ity providing specialty internal medi-cine, surgery, emergency and critical care, physical reha-bilitation, pain management, and blood bank services for pets. They are

located in Longmont at 104 S. Main St. For more information, go to www.AspenMeadowVet.com.

Lilies: lovely but deadly

Rooster For adoption at the Larimer County

Humane society

ConnerFor adoption at the Larimer County

Humane society

To advertise on our next pet page contact the Surveyor at 970.532.2252