Animal bites should be reported to the health department as soon as possible. Healthcare providers and veterinarians are required to report animal bites within 24 hours.
What is rabies?
Rabies is a viral disease of mammals most often transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal. The virus travels through the central nervous system to the brain; once it reaches the brain, the disease nearly always causes death. Rabies is preventable:
- Keep pets vaccinated against rabies.
- Avoid encounters with wild animals, bats, skunks, raccoons, and foxes are the most commonly affected wildlife.
- If bitten by a wild animal, seek immediate medical attention. You can be treated with a series of rabies immune globulin and vaccine.
If you are bitten by an animal
- Thoroughly clean the wound with soap and water and cover it with a clean dressing or bandage.
- Immediately seek medical care with your family doctor, urgent care, or emergency room. Many bites are puncture wounds that easily become infected if not cared for properly.
- Try to obtain the animal owner's name, address, and telephone number.
- Try to note the type of animal, color, breed, name, and rabies tag.
- Make sure your healthcare provider reports the bite to the Fairfield County Health Department. You may also call 740-652-2800 to file an animal bite report.
What is the health department's role?
According to Ohio Administrative Code 3701-3-28, "Whenever a person is bitten by a dog or other mammal, report of such bite shall be made within 24 hours to the health commissioner of the district in which the bite occurred."
The Fairfield County Health Department is not a dog enforcement agency, our role is rabies prevention. The department is required to quarantine all dogs, cats, and ferrets that bite people. The quarantine lasts 10 days and is most often done at the animal owner's home. Its purpose is to ensure the biting animal does not have rabies; if it did at the time of the bite, symptoms would appear within 10 days. FCHD will verify the animal's rabies vaccination is current, if not, it must be updated before the animal is released from quarantine.
If the animal dies during the ten-day quarantine, is a stray, or is a wild animal, it can be tested for rabies by analyzing brain tissue. An animal with trauma to the head may not be testable.
What if I see a stray dog?
To report a stray dog running loose, contact the Fairfield County Dog Shelter & Adoption Center (opens in a new window, leaves this site) at 740-652-7180.