Rabies in PA

A few things were mentioned about bats and Rabies in another topic and I thought I would post this email I just received. Keep in mind that these are the animals that were actually tested. I shot a 'coon the other month that was probably infected. It was staggering up my drive in broad daylight. The first shot hit it in the head as it was walking towards me (I was in plain sight) and it took another to the head to stop it. I probably would have been better off with my .22 mag rather than my .17 Hornady, but who knows...
Here's the email:

Hello everyone,

Earlier in the summer we were notified that misinformation was being
distributed about rabies. Just for the sake of clarification, ANY
mammal can develop rabies. Some animals do seem to be more susceptible
to rabies than others. Groundhogs can and do contract rabies. Every year
we have groundhogs positive for rabies in our state. So far this year
in Pennsylvania we have had 4 rabid groundhogs. Attached below is a
summary of a rabid groundhog case in the Philadelphia area (Chester
County). I am sending it to you just as I it was told to me.

"The teenaged daughter and mother heard a ruckus coming from the chicken
pen so the daughter went to see what the problem was. There was a
groundhog in the chicken house going after some chickens. They had seen
groundhogs there before going after the chicken feed, but never causing
a ruckus. So she went to shoo it out and it turned and started running
at her. It was vocalizing and snarling and she ran toward the house.
On the way, she tripped and fell and the groundhog jumped onto her chest
and was trying to bite her face. She punched it in the face hard enough
to make it bleed. This gave her enough time to get up and get into the
house. Her mother went out to try to shut the chicken pen and the
groundhog ran at her and was climbing up her leg and snarling
(fortunately she was wearing long pants and high socks) . She whacked
it with a rake to get it off of her and ran back to the house. Finally
the husband went out with a gun and shot it. It took 5 shots to stop it
from its attack on him. No domestic animals were involved other than
the chickens. The teenager received rabies post exposure prophylaxis. "

Rabid animals can be extremely unpredictable and ferocious.

As of July 31, 2005, 223 rabid animals have tested positive for rabies
in Pennsylvania laboratories.
Raccoons 148
Skunk 20
Bat 15
Cat 15
Fox 15
Groundhog 4
Horse 2
Goat 1
Whitetail deer 1
Dog 1
Bobcat 1

If you have questions about rabies, please do not hesitate to call us.

Karen F. Martin, VMD
Veterinary Medical Field Officer
Region 1 Office
13410 Dunham Road
Meadville, PA 16335
814-332-6890
kfmartin@state.pa.us