Franklin County Health Dept Sponsors Rabies Clinic May 17

If you missed the rabies clinic earlier this month at the Northeast Georgia Animal Shelter, the Franklin County Health Department will be sponsoring their annual spring clinic on May 17.

Doctors Pat Hitchcock, April Steele and Doris Cato will be administering the rabies vaccines at various locations around Franklin County, but there are a couple changes in locations this year.

Dr. Steele will be doing a clinic in the parking lot of Lavonia City Hall.  That is because of stray dog issues over in that part of Lavonia.  Also,  Dr. Steele is changing her Canon location from the Canon Baptist Church to the Canon Kung Fu Academy.

Additionally, Dr. Cato will no longer be going to Ashland Corner’s Store, but she will, once again this year do a rabies clinic at Deason’s Farm and Garden in Royston.

Franklin County Environmental Health Director Louis Korff said since last spring’s rabies clinic, he has sent off 34 animals for testing. 14 came back positive for rabies.  He said five animals were quarantined, eight had to be euthanized and three humans had to undergo Post Exposure Prophylaxes treatment for Rabies exposure.

Korff says he is also seeing an unusual trend in rabies cases in Franklin County.

“I sent off 11 cats. That’s an all-time record for cat specimens in our county,” Korff said. “Of those 11 cats, one was positive. And that cat bit a lady viciously. Of all the domestic animals, cats appear to be statewide the most suseptable for contracting the rabies virus.”

The victim in that case was a woman in Carnesville who had a stray cat wander into her yard that she thought was sick.  When she reached down to pet it, the cat attacked her and she had to undergo a series of post-exposure vaccines.

Korff said many barn cats and cats living at poultry farms are most at risk for contracting rabies because they roam free and not looked after as closely as a house cat.

“If you have stray cat that’s eating off your doorstep and you can get hold of that cat, take him to the vet or to the rabies clinic and get it vaccinated,” Korff said.

But dogs that run the countryside are also at high risk for contracting rabies because they often chase wild animals that are carriers of the disease, such as raccoon, fox, and skunk.

For a complete list of times and locations for this year’s rabies clinic in Franklin County, you can contact your local veterinarian or the Franklin County Health Department in Carnesville.