Rabies case reported in Dunkard Township

Note: This story was edited to reflect that Gapen advised people to have their cats vaccinated against rabies, not tested for rabies.
An apparently feral cat said to have been fighting with other animals in Dunkard Township tested positive for rabies.
Jane Gapen, director of Humane Society of Greene County, said a pathologist from the Department of Agriculture notified her Thursday of the positive test results for the cat, which was brought to the Waynesburg shelter Monday.
“The person who brought it in said it had been roaming around Bobtown,” Gapen said. “She said she’d witnessed it fighting with cats and dogs and it appeared ill, so she brought it to us.”
Gapen said “neurological symptoms” the animal was showing raised red flags it might be carrying the disease. The cat did not come into contact with other animals at the society, she said.
Members of the group quickly put it in a carrier and took it to Waynesburg Animal Hospital, which euthanized the animal and sent it to authorities for testing.
Rabies is a virus of the central nervous system that can infect any mammal. Symptoms vary among infected animals, but can include aggression, fearlessness, weakness in the hind limbs and loss of coordination, among many others, according to the Department of Health.
The disease is spread through bites, scratches and contact with saliva or neural tissue of contagious rabid animals.
State officials recorded three cases – involving a skunk, bat and raccoon – in Washington County last year. A case involving a raccoon was reported in Greene.
“If a cat seems ill, do not touch it,” Gaspen said. “And, get your own cats vaccinated for rabies.”