Veterinary Public Health

• Is rabies present in Los Angeles County (LAC)?

  Answer:  Yes. Rabies is found every year in insect-eating bats in LAC. Because of this, pets, people, and wildlife may be exposed to rabies from contact with a rabid bat. Most bats in nature do not carry rabies (less than 1%), and prefer to stay far from people and pets. When bats are rabid, they do unusual things (for a bat) such as fly in daytime. Every year at least one rabid bat is found inside of a home. Click on the link below to know more about recent local bat rabies. Note that the status of rabies in wild animals in other parts of the United States may be different than in our county. Statewide, the three most common types of animals diagnosed with rabies are bat, skunks, and foxes. Rabies has been diagnosed occasionally in California in raccoons, coyotes, opossums, and domestic animals such as horses, cattle, dogs, and cats. Rabies is a much bigger problem in pets in many countries. Extreme caution should be taken if someone is bitten by an animal while abroad. In addition, importing dogs and cats from countries where rabies is common can increase the chances of bringing rabies into LAC.
  Links: Bat rabies map, 2014

• What types of bites are reportable in Los Angeles County?

  Answer:  Anyone with knowledge of an animal bite to a person should report it to our office, except for bites from: small rodents (e.g. rats, mice, squirrel), rabbits, reptiles and birds. Bites from those animals do not transmit rabies (but they can still spread other germs). Bites from wildlife to domestic animals should also be reported. Note that rabies can be transmitted by very small bites from bats in our county - even bites that do not bleed.

• Are scratches from animals reportable?

  Answer:  Under state law, scratches from animals are not reportable to Public Health.

• What happens when I report a bite to a person?

  Answer:  Our office does not take animals away from their owners. State law requires that dogs and cats be quarantined and their health status observed for 10 days after they a bite to a person. This is true for both unvaccinated and vaccinated pets. In our county, quarantines are usually done at the pet's home, unless the pet was already impounded by an animal control agency. During that time, the pet cannot leave the property (e.g. to go to dog park, groomer, etc) except to go to the veterinarian. Quarantined animals must also not be in contact with other animals or people (besides their caretaker). The purpose is to check that the animal remains healthy after the 10 days. In case of wildlife or if the pet dies during quarantine, the animal must be tested for rabies.

• What do I do if my dog is bitten (or possibly bitten) by a wild animal (bats, coyote, raccoons, etc):

  Answer:  If the wild animal is still around, attempt to safely confine it without touching it, and call your local animal control (Check link below) to request that they pick up the animal and arrange a rabies test for it. If it is negative for rabies, then the pet was not exposed to rabies, and will not need to be quarantined. If the wild animal is positive for rabies or cannot be tested, have your veterinarian give a rabies vaccine booster immediately, even if its rabies vaccine was considered up-to-date. This helps waken the animal's defenses against rabies. The pet will then have to be quarantined and observed to see if it develops symptoms of rabies. Such quarantines are often done at the pet's home, if the animal was not already impounded by an animal control agency. The length of the quarantine depends on the pet's rabies vaccine status:1) the pet IS NOT up to date on rabies vaccination: quarantine length is 6 months; 2) the pet IS up to date on rabies vaccination: quarantine length is reduced to 30 days. This is why it is important to keep dogs and cats (including indoor cats) up to date on their vaccine.
  Links: Animal Control Agencies, Los Angeles County

• What do I do if I see a stray animal in my neighborhood?

  Answer:  Our office does not pick up animals. Contact your local animal control agency (Check link below).
  Links: Animal Control Agencies, Los Angeles County

• What should I do if I find a bat in my house?

  Answer:  It may be difficult to recognize if a person or animal has been bitten by a bat and, because of their small teeth, marks from bat bites may disappear within 45 minutes. Because of this, we consider any contact with a bat as a potential exposure to rabies. Never touch a bat with your bare hands. If the bat is on the ground, cover it with a box or bucket to make sure it does not escape. If it is flying in your house, exit the room where the bat is and close off the doors. Check that no animals or people touched the bat and call your local animal control agency (Check link below) so that they can pick it up. We will then test it for rabies and let you know if it was positive or not, and if rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is needed.
  Links: Animal Control Agencies, Los Angeles County

• Do I need rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP)? If so, who should I contact?

  Answer:  Our office will recommend rabies treatment (post-exposure prophylaxis, or PEP) after a bite or bat exposure on a case-by-case basis. If PEP is needed, contact your medical provider so that they can administer the treatment. It is important to let them know that this is for rabies exposure treatment. Your physician may need to order the treatment first, information for them is available at the link below. In addition, most emergency clinics carry treatment for rabies exposure. Rabies treatment is usually successful if it is started as soon as possible after the bite occurs and before symptoms appear. Once symptoms of rabies are present in people, the disease is usually fatal.
  Links: Animal Bites and Rabies Exposures - A Checklist for Private Practice Physicians

• A house in my neighborhood has dogs and they don't clean the feces - it smells bad and attracts flies. Who should I contact?

  Answer:  Contact Environmental Health (Check link below) by calling 213-351-5085 to report issues related to animal feces or foul smells.
  Links: Los Angeles County, Environmental Health

• How many people get bitten by dogs in Los Angeles County?

  Answer:  On average, there are about 9,000 animal bites reported to our offices per year. However, most likely there are many more that go unreported. Most people who are bitten by a dog are children ages 5-9. You should never leave a child around a dog without supervision, even if the dog is friendly. Most bites are provoked, meaning that the person did something specific that caused the dog to bite. Many people, especially children, don't always recognize a dog's body language when it is anxious or scared, and thus more prone to biting.

• What diseases can I get from my pets?

  Answer:  There are many diseases that people can get from animals. These are called zoonotic diseases (or zoonoses) and can be transmitted between people and pets through different ways: direct contact, fleas/ticks, bites & saliva, scratches, urine and feces. Some of the most common zoonoses include rabies, flea-borne typhus and pet gastrointestinal parasites (roundworms, tapeworms, hookworms). Visit our Animal Disease Information (Check link below) page to learn more about animal diseases in our county.
  Links: Animal Disease Information

• What should I do to protect my family from diseases transmitted by animals?

  Answer:  The most important thing to do is to keep your pets healthy. If they don't carry diseases, they are less likely to pass them on to people. This means making sure they are up to date on their vaccines, on flea/tick preventives and regularly dewormed as advised by a veterinarian. Proper hygiene around animals also helps reduce the risk of getting infected with zoonoses. Frequent hand washing (especially after playing with the pet), avoiding licks to the face and not sharing food are good ways of preventing disease transmission. Pet feces should be removed and discarded daily. When pet feces are allowed to dry out and sit for a week or longer, this gives parasite eggs inside the feces time to mature. These parasites can then infect people or contaminate the soil.

• Where can I get low cost care for my pet?

  Answer:  We recommend finding a local veterinarian that will see your pet regularly for health exams and vaccinations. It is much less expensive to take proper measures to prevent diseases than to treat them. One benefit of this relationship with a veterinarian is that they will be able to follow your pet's health throughout its life and provide advice on proper care or nutrition. If this is not possible, there are some alternative to getting pets vaccinated. Low cost vaccine clinics are available throughout Los Angeles County, click on the link below for more information. Keep in mind that vaccine clinics often cannot treat sick pets and may not vaccinate animals with some diseases.
  Links: Low Cost Vaccination Clinics

• How do I get rabies vaccine exemptions for my dog?

  Answer:  Rabies vaccination in dogs is mandatory in the state of California for licensing purposes. On rare occasions where giving the rabies vaccine might endanger the pet's life, our office may grant rabies vaccination exemptions for dogs that live in our jurisdiction (Los Angeles County minus Long Beach and Pasadena). We work closely with a dog's veterinarian to determine if a pet is eligible for a rabies vaccine exemption. Veterinarians must contact us directly to apply for exemption in a dog. They will also need to submit their patient's health records showing that rabies vaccination would endanger the pet's life. The state of California does not require rabies vaccination for cats (although some cities and unincorporated areas require it). Therefore our program does not review requests for rabies exemptions for them.

• How old does my puppy have to be before it can be vaccinated?

  Answer:  Just like a human, a puppy needs to get vaccines several times while they are still young. At around 6-8 weeks of age, the puppy should get the first distemper/parvo (DHLPP) vaccine. The puppy should get the same type of shot (DHLPP) again 2 more times one month apart. That means the last DHLPP vaccine in the puppy series is usually given at 4 month of age. After this initial series, a booster is given a year later. The vaccine is then is given every 3 years throughout the pet's life. The puppy also needs the rabies vaccine. The first rabies shot should be given sometime around age 3-4 months, and then repeated a year later. The dog should then get the rabies vaccine every 3 years throughout the pet's life. Puppies that do NOT receive the full series of shots are NOT protected. Many dogs die every year in our county from Parvo or Distemper. These germs are commonly found any place where dogs visit. Puppies should NOT interact with other dogs or go to the dog park, groomer or anywhere else until after it has had its full series of 3 DHLPP shots, after 4 months of age.
  Links: Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (VPDs)

• My dog just got out of quarantine, is it ok to have him/her vaccinated?

  Answer:  Yes, dogs that have just finished quarantine and are healthy can receive vaccines.