> What animals are listed as being most susceptible to rabies/carrying > rabies? What I've read in the past is that cats, skunks, bats, foxes > and raccoons are the most susceptible carriers. I'm sure there are > others, but those are the ones that I remember.
Okay, here's a bit from a page in Missouri: it says that some animals are more susceptible to rabies than others, and they are in order from most to less (in the top 5)--foxes, skunks, cattle, dogs, and then cats. I guess I sure was off! It also says that: "The raccoon, opossum, ground hog and muskrat in Missouri are seldom rabid. The Missouri Division of Health Central Laboratory has never isolated rabies from a bird, fox squirrel, gray or ground squirrel, chipmunk or field mouse, wild rat, rabbit" Here's what it says about bats: RABIES IN BATS: Bats, unlike other animals, can have rabies virus in their salivary glands and be capable of transmitting rabies for several weeks and even moths before showing clinical signs of rabies. Therefore, any bite by a bat must be considered rabid until proven otherwise by the laboratory. This is a very interesting page. http://mdc.mo.gov/landown/wild/nuisance/rabies/ Robyn S
