Marie Schatz wrote:
 
>Let me just add to this - I don't have a complete list of mammals that
>carry rabies but no not all mammals.  Chipmunks don't (I asked the vet
>because of Giesela's encounters), squirrels don't, I don't think rabbits
>do?  Mostly it seems to be bats, racoons, skunks, fox and of course cats
>and dogs need rabies shots.
 
Just a note here, it's not that they can't.  It's that they generally
don't.  It's so highly unusual to find certain species such as mice and
squirrels with rabies that they are considered to be 'no risk' if someone
is bitten by one.  But IMO it's probably because an encounter with a rabid
animal would probably kill them outright or leave them with injuries that
would kill them before they would die of rabies.
 
Mice certainly CAN get rabies-in fact they are used in rabies testing.
Material from a suspect animal is injected into them to see if they develop
the disease.
 
And squirrels CAN and do get rabies in the wild.  It's just VERY unusual.
I think there were some posts about rabid squirrels turning up this year on
the wildlife rehab list I'm in, but I'm having trouble locating the posts.
If someone really wants me too, email me privately and I'll try to dig them
out, but I can't do it today due to my schedule this weekend.
 
On the other side of the coin are species which are considered to be *such*
high risk that they are pretty much assumed rabid unless proven otherwise.
The species can vary by location.  In NY for example, skunks, raccoons and
bats are considered to be rabies vectors, and only wildlife rehabbers with
special permits, training, and cages are permitted to handle them.
 
-Ilena Ayala
[Posted in FML issue 2796]