Calf at Ardrossan diagnosed with rabies
Four people being treated with preventative inoculations
RADNOR » A calf at the farm at Ardrossan died after contracting rabies, police said.
The calf was one of a herd of Ayrshire cattle that still live on what was the Ardrossan estate. Most of the 311-acre Ardrossan estate is being sold for high-end houses, although Radnor Township acquired 71 acres in 2013 for open space, paying $11.6 million.
On April 9, the cow, which was in a field at Newtown and DarbyPaoli roads was acting strangely, foaming at the mouth and was unable to swallow, said Radnor Police Superintendent William Colarulo. The farmer, believing it might have swallowed string, took it to the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine’s New Bolton Center in Kennett Square.
The calf’s condition continued to worsen and it was euthanized on April 12, said William Gallagher, animal control officer. A specimen was sent to the state laboratory and it came back positive for rabies, he said.
The mother cow has been quarantined and so far has not shown signs of the disease, Gallagher said.
However, four people who came in contact with the sick calf have started a series of inoculations to prevent rabies, said Colarulo.
The calf might have been bitten by a raccoon, fox, bat or other animal. Through tests the state lab may be able to determine which wildlife species the calf had contracted the disease from, Gallagher said.
Richard Bilheim, the farmer at Ardrossan, did not return calls asking for comment.
Joan Capuzzi, a veterinarian who serves on the Radnor Board of Health, said that calves are usually vaccinated for rabies at 3 months of age. It can take weeks to months for symptoms to begin after exposure to rabies.
“People only think of rabies as a problem for dogs and cats but any mammal, including livestock, can get rabies and any mammal can transmit rabies to another person,” said Capuzzi. “The signs the calf had, foaming at mouth and trouble chewing, this is a classic example of how rabies can present in any mammal with general neurologic signs and the difficulty with chewing is manifestation of neurologic signs.”
Capuzzi emphasized that rabies is a normal part of nature and there is no need for panic.
Last year three cows in Pennsylvania were found to have rabies, according to the state Department of Agriculture and in 2016, there were eight. This calf makes the 43rd rabid cow in the state since 2010.
There are more cases of rabid animals in the southeastern part of the state than the other districts. In 2017, there were 99 cases of rabies in animals in Pennsylvania and 28.7 percent of those were in the southeastern district. Last year, more raccoons than any other animal were found with rabies, followed by cats. Bats were in third place, with skunks in fourth and foxes in fifth.