If Senator North (R) is the Chairman of the committee that the Michigan
rabies quarantine bill is in, how in the world does Senator Dingell (D)
figure he is going to "proceed with scheduling the legislation for a hearing
anyway".  This bill MUST be scheduled for a hearing by the chairman of the
committee, not by anyone (including the author of the bill) who thinks it
should be heard.  There are politics at work here, and right now the
Republicans are in control in the Senate.  Also, with all due respect to
Senator Dingell, his bill does not have the support of any of the other
agencies or associations necessary to overcome Public Health Dept.'s
non-support.  If you research this you will find that there are no laws with
regards to dogs and rabies in Michigan.  Each and every rabies suspect bite
is reported to -- guess who?  The Michigan Dept. of Community Health.
Guess who makes the determination on whether the dog (or whatever) lives,
dies or is quarantined?  Yep, you got it, Community Health.  In 1993 alone
almost 600 dogs were destroyed and tested for rabies in Michigan.
 
CDC (in the form of Dr. Ruprecht) is the agency distributing the abstract on
the bat strain (just like they did with the skunk strain and the raccoon
strain.  If Dr. Ruprecht works for the CDC & he is distributing documents
what else is Michigan waiting for??  I have a feeling it is as McDuff
states.  They want a published study or a recommendation for quarantine from
the CDC. - I'm not going to hold my breath!
 
I am suprised at the lack of response to this latest turn of events.  I
guess everyone trusts the Government to do no wrong and only look out for
our best interests.
 
[MC]
[Posted in FML issue 2107]