Rabies—a disease that still affects livestock and people

Who hasn’t seen (or read) Old Yeller, the story set in 1869 South Texas? The story is about a boy and his faithful companion, a big yeller’ dog, who by saving his master from an attack by a rabid wolf eventually succumbs to the disease and has to be destroyed by the young man.

While heart-wrenching, the tail’s depiction of rabies and it’s effects on wildlife as well as a trusted family pet, did its part to instill the fear of the disease on the many readers and viewers. The more modern horror film Cujo, only made a stronger case for this viral disease, which has been on the increase here in Texas.

While “wolves” as carriers are not a concern today, small mammals, pets, and livestock can and do become infected by this fatal disease.

One such Texas family that has first-hand knowledge of the devastating effects of this disease is the Rogers of Hamilton. Keith and Cindy Rogers and their four children, Shelby, Koby, Harley and Brody run Hidden Oaks Ranch, where they raise registered Hereford cattle. Oldest daughter Shelby was past president of the Texas Junior Polled Hereford Association and was recently elected to the National Junior Hereford Board. 

Obviously the Rogers, like many families who exhibit registered cattle and who have strong ties to junior cattle organizations plan their summers around exhibiting at their state and national shows. For the Rogers family, Thursday, May 5, 2011, will always be a date firmly ingrained into their memories and one that changed their lives drastically for the next 90 days.

On this day, like many others, the kids came home from school, fed their show cattle and then decided to take a dip in their pool before turning the cattle out for the evening. 

With four kids, who all actively show, the Roger’s barn was home to seven heifers, seven steers and one bull. 

That evening as the kids enjoyed the pool, dad Keith arrived home and while unhooking the trailer heard the cattle bellowing in the barn. Thirteen-year-old Harley went to see what the commotion was all about . She discovered a skunk and yelled for her dad, who immediately ran to the house for his shotgun. 

With the family on high alert, Keith went into the barn, searching for the smelly invader. 

“I looked for 20 minutes,” Keith said. “I searched every spot I thought the skunk could possibly be in. Finally one of the heifers was pulling back on her halter and looking really hard over near the generator. The skunk had actually dug under it and was hiding there.”

Of course Keith shot the skunk and then took it to a brush pile for future cremation. However, the more he thought about the skunk’s actions, the more he thought he should probably send it to be posted, ‘just to be on the safe side.’ Friday morning the skunk was sent off for posting and the family awaited the results which arrived Monday, with the bad news that, yes the skunk was rabid, and their show barn was on lock down. 

“The state quarantined our show barn and all the cattle in it for 90 days,” Cindy explained. “That meant no contact with our cattle by outside cattle for three months. It eliminated our plans to exhibit these cattle at both the state and National Junior Hereford Shows. Needless to say the kids were devastated,” she concluded. (Since the ownership deadline had not passed the Rogers were able to acquire three heifers that were housed in a different area, to give the kids cattle to exhibit at the shows.)

Of course, as the Rogers soon found out, this was just the beginning of the battle with rabies.

In addition to the cattle being quarantined, the family dog, Cowboy, had to be confined at the vet’s office for 45 days (even though he was vaccinated) and the four barn cats all had to be destroyed.

Rabies, or hydrophobia as the acute virus is called, attacks the central nervous system and may affect any warm-blooded animal. Once clinical signs appear, the disease is always fatal. 

Transmission is usually by the introduction of virus-laden saliva into the tissue of another animal by the bite of a rabid carrier. In cattle, the incubation period (from time of bite to the time clinical signs are seen) is usually about three weeks. The virus will multiply at the bite site for some time before moving on. The virus then travels up the peripheral nerves to the spinal cord and proceeds to the brain. Once the virus reaches the brain, it will travel up the peripheral nerves and proceed to the salivary glands.

Two forms of rabies are possible in cattle. In the furious form, normally docile animals may attack humans and other animals. Milk production will cease abruptly. The cow may appear hypersensitive and will follow sounds and movements intensely. The affected cattle may exhibit abnormal bellowing which may continue intermittently (remember the Long-horn cow in Old Yeller who continually walked the pasture and bawled) or voiceless attempts to bawl that looks like yawning.

In the paralytic form, the first sign may be paralysis of the throat. Drooling of saliva, grinding of teeth, extension of the head and bloat may occur. The cow may appear to be choking. Cattle affected this way rarely attempt to bite. Paralysis may occur and eventually the animal will go down and be unable to get up.

Not only were the Roger’s show cattle confined to their show barn and pens but the family was obviously concerned that some of the cattle may have been bitten by the infected skunk and would either die or have to be destroyed. These cattle were put through a series of three rabies vaccinations over a period of 45 days in the hopes of warding off the disease in the advent any had been bitten by the rabid skunk.

Plus the kids, who did the feeding everyday would have some exposure to the animals.

“Dad insisted that we wear long-sleeved shirts, pants and gloves when we fed,” explained Shelby. “It was hot and uncomfortable, but he didn’t want us to get any saliva on us.”

As time went on one heifer did begin to show signs that she might have contracted the disease despite her receiving the shots.

“Harley’s scramble heif-er started showing signs,” explained Shelby, “so we sent her off to our vet, Dr. Key in San Saba. For a while we thought she might not have rabies and would get better, but she eventually died of the disease.”

Because Harley and Brody had come in direct contact with the infected heifer, the situation was critical and it became apparent that to be safe, these two family members would need to endure a series of rabies shots.

“I researched the topic and found that the recommended protocol was to have an initial injection of human rabies immune globulin and a follow up of four shots several days apart of the vaccine,” described Cindy. “I know we’ve all heard the stories about shots directly into the stomach and all that, and this wasn’t that way, but the shots did make the kids sick toward the end. While it was probably unlikely they would have contracted the disease we were not willing to take that chance, so they had to endure the treatment.”

The lesson learned, according to the Rogers family, was that they would recommend cattle be vaccinated for this disease and that if you suspect you have a rabid animal, you need to test it to be sure. 

“I know that we were kept from showing the animals in our barn, but I can’t image what would have happened if we had ignored that skunk and never had it tested and then exposed animals all over the state and maybe even the nation to this awful disease,” stated Shelby. “There are several rabies vaccines out there for cattle,” she said. “And because of the increase in this disease and the losses we have experienced we are going to be giving this shot to our show cattle from now on and I encourage others to do the same. Our show cattle are important to us and we want to make sure they stay healthy. Our family will always remember this experience and I hope anyone who reads this story will look hard at vaccinating their show animals (even lambs, goats & pigs). Don’t let this happen to you,” she warned.

SLS