Kitten creates possible exposure to rabies for people in three counties
HAMILTON » Officials warned that dozens are at risk after possibly being exposed to a rabid cat that was brought to a township school this month.
Health department officials are investigating to determine the number of people and animals who were possibly exposed to the infected kitten.
So far, officials estimated more than a dozen people in three New Jersey counties, including Mercer, may have come in contact with the adopted stray kitten, which was euthanized after it began exhibiting signs of rabies, a potentially deadly disease that attacks the nervous system and can be transmitted through bites, scratches or contact of infected animals.
Officials said cats have accounted for about 85 percent of rabies cases in New Jersey since 1989, attributing it to the animal’s free-roaming spirit and possible lack of vaccinations.
“Over the past five years, there have been about 20 cats infected with rabies annually,” State Public Health Veterinarian Dr. Colin Campbell said in a statement. “Human rabies cases are rare in the United States and treatment is 100 percent effective if given promptly.”
The cat, which roamed unclaimed in Edison until it was adopted earlier this month, was taken by its owner to classes and work, health officials said. The cat tested positive for rabies Tuesday at a state Department of Health lab, officials said in news release.
Officials urged anyone who may have
come into contact with the infected kitten over a 10day span to consult health care officials or veterinarians. Symptoms include fever, pain at the site of the bite, lethargy, stunted appetite, nausea and vomiting and can develop between 12 days to six months after exposure.
While rabid animals are usually vicious and aggressive, some infected animals, like the kitten in this case, can appear normal.
The owner, who was not identified, took the adopted kitten to classes at Branford Hall Career Institute in the township over three days, from Nov. 13 to Nov. 16, exposing at least two classmates.
The owner also took the cat to work at a Middlesex County hospital where it was cared for while she worked. She told officials her kitten remained inside an animal carrier and she didn’t believe anyone came into direct contact with it.
Two days later, the kitten went for a wellness check at a Monmouth County vet’s office, but didn’t show signs of infection at the time.
The owner took her cat to a Thanksgiving party in Old Bridge where about a dozen people came into contact with it, including ones who reported being scratched or licked. Rabies is detected in the animal’s saliva.
The kitten started showing signs of rabies Nov. 23, when it became weak and fatigued and lost its appetite.
The cat went in for another checkup two days later and was euthanized the next day, Nov. 26, officials said.