P.D. 123 



13 



RABIES 



A total of 38 cases of rabies (37 dogs and 1 cat) were reported for the 

 year, as compared with 60 cases (58 dogs, 1 cat, and 1 cow) for the year 

 1938 — the lowest number for any like period for the past forty or more years. 

 With a record of only 7 cases reported during the first four months of the 

 year, followed by three months in which there were no cases, a rabid dog was 

 reported in July in the town of Plainville, followed by what virtually ap- 

 peared an epidemic of cases in Foxboro, Franklin, and contiguous towns, re- 

 sulting in a total of 26 cases reported in that district between July 1 and No- 

 vember 30, the end of the fiscal year. As rabies had previously been reported in 

 Rhode Island, it is possible that this outbreak originated by or through contact 

 with a rabid animal from that state. 



As in all cases of reported rabies, inspectors of animals were immediately 

 instructed to see that all contact animals were quarantined and, in cooperation 

 with the State Department of Public Health, the town officials of the towns 

 involved were advised as to the adoption of general quarantine measures, 

 resulting not only in the imposing of town quarantines in many instances, but 

 also in the holding of so-called "rabies clinics" by local boards of health for 

 the purpose of providing preventive rabies vaccination of dogs. 



In addition to towns and cities in which preventive rabies clinics for dogs 

 have been held yearly for several years, such clinics were held also in many 

 of the towns in which rabies was diagnosed during the outbreak, resulting in 

 clinics in a total of 45 towns, at which single injection prevention inoculations 

 were administered to 14,635 dogs out of a total of 37,786 dogs licensed. 



RABIES 



Showing 

 Symptoms 



Contact 



Bite Cases 



CI 



1/ o " > 



Ji X Ji i> O. (U 



T. ~ V --■ G 



Forward, Year 1938 — — — 14 _ _ ^ 172 — — — 186 



December, 1938 2 — — 25 — — — 398 1 10 — 436 



January, 1939 2 1 — — — — — 404 1 11 — 419 



February 1 2 — 3 — — — 355 1 12 — 374 



March 2 6 — 7 — — — 576 2 12 — 605 



April — 2 1 — — — — 739 2 28 — 772 



May — 1 — — — — — 1,055 11 21 — 1,088 



June — 1 1 — — — — 1,095 3 25 — 1,125 



July 7 2 2 14 2 — — 877 7 20 — 931 



August 3 3 5 26 11 — — 786 5 31 — 870 



September 5 4 — 1 — — — 721 2 22 — 755 



October 4 1 — 5 — 1 — 564 2 17 — 594 



November 10 — 1 3 — 1 — 372 2 IS — 407 



Forward — — — — — — 4 — — — 177 181 



Total 36 23 10 98 13 2 4 8,114 39 227 177 8,743 



The above record refers 

 to the following animals: 



Cats 1 12 1 13 — — 82 3 44 2 149 



Cattle — 1 — 16 — — — — — — — 17 



"hipmunk — — • — — — — — - — ■ — 1 ■ — 1 



Dogs 35 21 8 79 — 2 4 8,022 35 173 175 8,554 



Horses — — — 2 — — — 1 — — — 3 



Muskrat — — — — — • — — — — 1 — 1 



Monkeys — — — — — — — 8 — — — 8 



Rabbits — — — — _-__ 1 1 3— 5 



Raccoon — — — ■ — — • — — — — 1 — 1 



Rat — — — — — — — — — 1 — 1 



Squirrels — — — — — — — — — 3 — 3 



Total positive cases, 38 



