![\"image\"](\"http:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/wpid-rabies_t670.jpg\" "\\"rabies_t670.jpg\\"")
<\/a><\/p>\nRabies alert issued for Lehigh Acres for 60 days<\/p>\n
The Florida Department of Health has issued a rabies alert in Lehigh Acres for the next 60 days after tests confirmed a cat from the area was positive for the disease.<\/p>\n
Several people were exposed to rabies after a wild animal attacked a pet cat that had not been vaccinated for rabies, according to the department. This includes the pet owners and veterinary staff members who treated that cat.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cThe wild animal is unknown,\u201d said Diane Holm, spokeswoman for the department\u2019s Lee County office, in an email. \u201cThe pet owners only saw their injured cat.\u201d<\/p>\n
The department is not releasing the number of people who have been exposed. But Holm said all are getting treatment for the viral disease as a precaution.<\/p>\n
Alert area boundaries are State Road 82, Buckingham Road, Sunshine Boulevard North and 15th Street Southwest.<\/p>\n
Potentially fatal<\/p>\n
Rabies is potentially fatal, particularly if left untreated before before signs of the disease arise.<\/p>\n
But human cases of the disease are extremely rare. The last Florida case was reported in 2004, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And rabies-caused deaths account for about two to three U.S. deaths a year.<\/p>\n
Vaccinations for rabies after exposure usually includes a injections on day an exposure is identified, and then vaccinations on the third, seventh and 14th day after exposure, according to the CDC. Injections are usually given in the upper arm.<\/p>\n
The disease is most commonly spread by raccoons, skunks and bats.<\/p>\n
Florida Department of Health advisory Thursday urged residents to keep their pets\u2019 vaccinations up to date, keep an eye on pets outside and to seek veterinary treatment if their pets are bitten by wild animals.<\/p>\n
People should not adopt wild animals or bring them into homes, the department said. Children should also be warned about handling strange animals.<\/p>\n
Anyone who has been bitten or scratched by a wild animal should seek medical attention and report the injury to the Department of Health in Lee County at 332-9580.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rabies alert issued for Lehigh Acres for 60 days The Florida Department of Health has issued a rabies alert in Lehigh Acres for the next 60 days after tests confirmed… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36405"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36405"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36405\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelehighacresgazette.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}