hdt said:
Do any of you know the rules concerning orphaned baby racoons.
What should I tell him?
Honestly, this is going to sound a bit blunt and harsh but don't feel that it is directed at you personally.
Tell him to LEAVE THEM ALONE! It should'nt matter how he feels personally. This is not a joke, I can't tell you how many people make this mistake because they think they are doing the right thing. They are endangering their entire family and anyone the raccoons come in contact with!
Raccoon strain rabies is a strain of rabies carried mainly by raccoons. Raccoon strain rabies is still rabies. It is spread to other wildlife species, domestic animals, pets and humans through the saliva of an infected animal in the same way as other strains of rabies. The only difference is that it is spread primarily by raccoons.
Raccoon rabies was virtually unknown prior to the 1950s. Florida experienced the first case of raccoon rabies. The disease then spread slowly during the next three decades into Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina. In 1978 Virginia experienced an outbreak of raccoon strain rabies due to the translocation of raccoons from Georgia and Florida. The first cases appeared in West Virginia and Virginia in the late 1970s. Since then, raccoon rabies in the area expanded to form the most intensive rabies outbreak in the U.S.
The strain now occurs in all the eastern coastal states, as well as Alabama, Pennsylvania, Vermont, West Virginia, Ohio, Maine and even southern Ontario.
Respect and observe wild animals from a distance
Do not feed wild animals
Do not approach or handle wild animals
The incubation period, the time between exposure to the disease and the onset of symptoms, varies from a few days to several months. The rabid animal may appear healthy while incubating the rabies virus for several months before contracting clinical symptoms and spreading the virus.
There is no known effective treatment for rabies once symptoms develop. Rabies can be prevented if rabies immunoglobulin and vaccine are given shortly after exposure to the virus. This is called rabies post-exposure treatment.
Rabies postexposure treatment is no longer the painful process that it used to be. The current vaccines are much safer and more effective than the previously used vaccine. Postexposure treatment begins with a dose of rabies immune globulin administered partially around the wound, if possible, and partially in the gluteal region. This is followed by a series of 5 vaccinations given over 28 days. This vaccine has been extensively used for over fifteen years with very few significant side effects. The vaccine is given in the upper arm, instead of the stomach.