County officials continue to monitor health-related issues that typically crop up over the summer months.
RABIES
The North Country has not had a positive case of rabies this year, but with the deadly virus identified north and east of the region, officials are keeping their eyes and ears open for any developments.
And they are asking the public to do the same.
"We would like to test any sick raccoons that people may see," said Rita Mitchell, senior public-health sanitarian for the Clinton County Health Department. "We're interested in testing road kill and any sick-appearing raccoons (for the rabies virus)."
Clinton County has been proactive throughout the past several years in vaccinating raccoons in the wild by placing vaccine-laced baits in locations the animals have been known to frequent.
While raccoon rabies has steadily spread south of the county and in Vermont and Quebec, Clinton County has been spared the onslaught.
"It's still up in the air whether they will do a bait drop this year," Mitchell said. "We may have a limited bait-drop program in Essex County surrounding a positive fox that turned up in the Wilmington area last September."
That case did not involve any human or other animal contact, and Mitchell said it was surprising to find a positive case there when no other rabid foxes or raccoons had been identified.
Still, the State Health Department distributed 180,000 baits in a measure to prevent the spread of rabies in that area.
Officials are also emphasizing the need to vaccinate pets against rabies. Clinton County will host several rabies-vaccine clinics this year. The first will be held Aug. 7 in Morrisonville, and the remaining clinics will be announced later.
Bats continue to be a focus of concern as well. Although no positive cases in bats have been identified, the Health Department stresses the need to be wary of the winged mammals, especially if one has entered a residence.
"If you find a bat in your home, give us a call before you do anything," Mitchell said, explaining that the county has had a couple of cases this year where bats in the home were released when members of the family may have been exposed to them, meaning the family needed to have rabies shots.
"If the bat is in a bedroom where a child is asleep, that bat needs to be tested. We've had no rabid bats, but there's no reason to believe bat rabies isn't in Clinton County."
Officials have to be careful with distributing the human rabies vaccine this year because of production issues in Europe, where facilities are being upgraded.
"Prior to stopping production, an inventory of vaccine was produced to meet the anticipated demand," Mitchell said. "The demand has exceeded expectations, so some restrictions have been placed on the availability of vaccine to make sure it is available to those who need it."
The State Health Department has a video on its Web site at www.health.state.ny.us/diseases/communicable/zoonoses/rabies/ that goes through a step-by-step process for capturing a bat inside the home.
Lyme disease
Lyme disease is also on officials' minds.
"We have at least several Lyme disease cases a year," said Tim Palmer, public-health nurse for the Clinton County Health Department. "We know the ticks are out there. The best measures to take are preventive."
Deer ticks are about the size of sesame seeds. They attach to a victim when the person or animal rubs against vegetation and will gorge on a victim's blood for upwards of a day.
The tick needs to feed for about 24 hours for the bacteria that causes Lyme disease to be transferred to the victim. So if the bug is removed soon after contact is made, chances are that a person will not develop Lyme disease.
The tell-tale sign that someone has been infected is a bull's-eye rash that develops at the site of the bite. If a person sees it and seeks medical help, doctors can confirm Lyme disease and begin treatment immediately.
But the rash is not always easy to find, especially if the bug attached on the back of the leg or in the groin area. The rash will eventually go away, but the infection will continue to affect the body, causing serious damage to joints, organs and the central nervous system.
"It's definitely worthwhile to not get Lyme disease," Palmer said, noting that people should use appropriate bug repellent and wear long-sleeved shirts and pants whenever going into grassy or underbrush areas where deer ticks thrive.
The Health Department's Environmental Division does provide a service in which it will send deer ticks to the state lab to determine the species and whether the tick had been feeding on a victim long enough to transfer the bacteria.
WEST NILE VIRUS
Officials are also keeping their eye on mosquitoes that may be carrying West Nile virus.
The disease that has slowed down across the region but is still of public concern.
E-mail Jeff Meyers at:
jmeyers@pressrepublican.com
TO LEARN more
To learn more about rabies, Lyme disease or other summertime concerns or to report unusual circumstances, contact your local health departments:
Clinton County: 565-4870.
Essex County: 873-3500.
Franklin County: 891-4471 (Saranac Lake); 481-1709 (Malone). To see more of The Press-Republican or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.pressrepublican.com/. Copyright (c) 2008, The Press-Republican, Plattsburgh, N.Y. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
Copyright (C) 2008 The Press-Republican, Plattsburgh, N.Y.