Harford County health officials say a suspected rabid beaver bit a county resident on Friday afternoon in the Deer Creek Conservation Area off Sandy Hook Road in the Street area of Northern Harford.
Although the victim is receiving the appropriate post-exposure rabies treatments, health officials say they remain concerned that the beaver came into contact with at least one dog that belongs to another person, and they are trying to find the dog's owner who may have also been exposed.
"We are taking all necessary precautions," William Wiseman, spokesperson for the Health Department, said Monday afternoon, shortly after the department sent out a media advisory about the situation. For that reason, he said, they need to find the dog and its owner.
Wiseman said the Health Department is working with the Maryland Natural Resources in an effort to find anyone who might have been exposed to the beaver and to find the beaver itself, which Wiseman said had not been located as of about 5:30 p.m. Monday.
Wiseman said the beaver's actions were not characteristic, which leads them to suspect it is rabid.
"These animals generally aren't aggressive like that," he said.
After biting the victim, the beaver quickly returned to the woods but might also have had contact around the same time of the other incident with a dog, believed to be a husky-chow mix, owned by another visitor to the park, the Health Department said.
The importance of attempts to reach the dog's owner is twofold, according to the Health Department.
The first is concern over the possibility of indirect exposure to the rabies virus by the dog's owner. Because the virus remains viable in the animal's saliva for up to two hours, it potentially could have been introduced into an open wound or a mucous membrane upon handling the dog, if it engaged the beaver, according to the media advisory.
Second, it is imperative that the dog be properly managed. "The Health Department needs to review its rabies vaccination history, determine the need for administration of a booster dose and follow-up regarding any appropriate quarantine or isolation arrangements,' the advisory states.
The department said there are additional concerns that other individuals and possibly their pets may have been exposed to this beaver, and they are reaching out to any other persons with knowledge that they, their children or their or pets might have had direct contact with the animal.
Anyone who may have had confirmed or possible contact with the beaver themselves or through their pets is requested to contact the Harford County Health Department for rabies risk assessment, by calling the Environmental Health Division at 410-877-2300. The department is also seeking any information regarding the animal through the same phone number.
Rabies is a fatal disease caused by a virus that typically exists in the saliva of infected animals. These animals spread the virus to humans and other animals most commonly through bites or scratches. People can also become infected if their mouth, eyes, nose, or open cuts and wounds come into contact with animal saliva containing the rabies.
Because the incubation period in humans is typically three to eight weeks, it is very important to begin rabies post exposure prophylaxis, when warranted, as soon as possible after exposure, the Health Department said. Once symptoms of rabies have begun, the vaccine is no longer effective and the disease is almost universally fatal.
The risk of rabies exposure from a beaver should not be taken lightly, the Health Department said. In 2005, health officials identified a rabies positive beaver that had attacked and bitten four people in Rocks State Park. All four, as well as two other people who had indirect exposure, received rabies post exposure treatment before the beaver was eventually found, euthanized and submitted for testing.
Another similar incident occurred in April 2009 when the Department sought identification of the owner of a dog attacked by a rabid fox near the boardwalk at Eden Mill Park in Pylesville, also in Northern Harford County.
More recently, in late May the Health Department reported a feral cat living near the county landfill off Scarboro Road tested positive for rabies and warned that people who may have had recent contact with any stray cats in that area could be at risk for contracting the disease and advised them to seek appropriate treatment.