Sept. 24, 2015

END RABIES TOGETHER:  SEPTEMBER 28 IS WORLD RABIES DAY

St. Lucie County, Fla. – The Florida Department of Health in St. Lucie County (DOH-St. Lucie) recognizes World Rabies Day as an opportunity to promote rabies awareness and prevention for all St. Lucie County residents.  DOH-St. Lucie’s Health Officer Clint Sperber would like to remind residents to avoid contact with wild and stray animals to protect themselves from the risk of rabies exposure. 

St. Lucie County, Fla. – The Florida Department of Health in St. Lucie County (DOH-St. Lucie) recognizes World Rabies Day as an opportunity to promote rabies awareness and prevention for all St. Lucie County residents.  DOH-St. Lucie’s Health Officer Clint Sperber would like to remind residents to avoid contact with wild and stray animals to protect themselves from the risk of rabies exposure. 

Rabies is the deadliest disease on earth with a 99.9% fatality rate in humans once clinical symptoms of the disease appear.  Annually rabies results in over 55,000 deaths worldwide.  Most of these deaths occur in Africa and Asia with almost 50% of the victims being under the age of 15.  Rabies is transmitted through exposure to the saliva and nervous tissue from a rabid animal through a bite, scratch, or contact with mucous membranes such as the eyes, nose, or mouth.  

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