After reporting the second positive rabies case of 2011 last week, Orange County has seen two more cases than this time last year.
County Animal Services Director Bob Marotto said although the number of rabies cases have been low in recent years, an upswing is possible.
“Just because there has been a lower number of rabies in the past few years, it should be understood that we are just in a trough,” Marotto said.
“We have every reason to believe that at some point in the very near future the number of confirmed rabies cases is going to increase.”
During 2009 and 2010, Orange County saw a 50 percent reduction in the number of positive rabies cases from 2008— falling to 11 cases from 22.
Because rabies is known to go through cycles of intensity, Marotto said the community needs to remain vigilant in its surveillance and control of the disease.
Chapel Hill Veterinarian Debbie Stine, who recently worked with the N.C. Center for Health Statistics to study the progression of rabies, said she has never seen a positive rabies case in her practice, but many of her clients bring in their pets because they believe their animal may have contracted the disease.
“What we normally see are people who have a pet that has been bitten by wild animal,” she said.
Although a positive rabies case can only be diagnosed after a complete necropsy is performed, Stine said there are a few clear warning signs that a pet has contracted rabies, including aggressive behavior and foaming at the mouth.