After Plainview and Hale County officials received reports of a spike in rabies cases in their county and across the Panhandle this week, they addressed the possible causes.
Jack McCasland, the environmental health inspector with Plainview Health Department, said rabies appear in cycles.
“We have a few mild winters, we are no longer having a drought, the population is up, and they’re intermingling more,” he said. “That’s probably it.”
Related Story: Hale County officials see confirmed cases of rabies, remind public of risks
Since January, three cases were reported in Hale County: two skunks and a calf. Prior to this, they did not have a single case of rabies for a decade.
“Any mammal can get it,” he said. “It doesn’t necessarily need to be a bite but it can be exposed to saliva.”
In addition, the release from Plainview said there have been more than 33 cases in the region, which includes 44 counties in the Panhandle.
If an animal is identified as possibly having rabies, Steven Greene, the director of Lubbock Animal Services, said they will investigate.
“First we will see if we can find the animal,” he said. “If we are not able to locate it immediately, then we would set a trap and do a patrol for it.”
While Greene said no cases have been reported in Lubbock County since 2017, he advised the community to stay vigilant.
“Usually a case like that we find because it is doing something odd and someone has eyes on it,” he said.
