Rabies epidemic confirmed in northern Alaska

Rabies has been found in 44 Arctic foxes, 18 red foxes and four dogs in northern Alaska. Most of the animals were from the North Slope Borough.

As well, 15 people, mostly in Nuiqsut, a village about 160 miles east of Barrow, have been exposed, most likely through a bite that broke the skin.

Rabies infects the central nervous system, causing brain disease and ultimately death.

Exposure for humans calls for five doses of a vaccine, administered through shots in the arm over four weeks, plus a shot of human rabies immune globulin.

Rabies epidemics have been documented every three to five years in northern Alaska, but do not occur in all regions at the same time.

According to the Anchorage Daily News, rabid foxes are easy to spot. If a fox takes on the town’s meanest dog, it’s likely something’s not right. Sometimes rabid foxes stagger. They have also been known to attack the tail rotors of helicopters. One rabid fox was flattened after it attacked a bulldozer.

At the other extreme, some infected animals act confused and sluggish.

If a rabid fox bites a dog, the virus usually shows up 18 to 25 days later. The virus moves up nervous system fiber about two millimeters per hour until it reaches the brain. Animals die within days after the virus reaches the brain.

Symptoms show up sooner in dogs or humans bit in the face because the virus has a shorter route to the brain.