Comments on: The Scratch of Death

By: Podcast On Wildlife Diseases For Campers Hunters Trappers Hikers Jerry Genesio | USA Trappers - Nuisance Wildlife Control-Raccoon Skunk Squirrel Animal Removal

Fri, 19 Feb 2010 22:58:53 +0000

[...] The Scratch of Death (politedissent.com) [...]

By: EL

EL — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 07:07:11 +0000

Surprisingly enough, many people still don’t know that rabies is incurable. Last year for our coursework, we were supposed to write about social conceptions of disease and, as a former veterinarian, I decided to write about rabies. Some of the people in my group did not know that it was incurable.

As a veterinarian, I had to deal with many people who did not want to vaccinate their dogs or cats or deal with the consequences after they failed to vaccinate and their dog or cat mouthed a dead skunk or bat that turned out to be rabies positive. Needless to say, I got to be extremely persuasive about vaccination, particularly in Arizona where cats don’t have to be vaccinated for rabies (and I saw more bats there than anywhere I’ve ever lived).

This is a horrible disease and can generally be prevented nowadays.

By: Scott

Scott — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:56:09 +0000

That’s pretty much what I suspected — but Charlton probably should have updated the terminology in the 1982 reprint I scanned this in from, because by then “hydrophobia” was a forgotten term.

By: Charlene

Charlene — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:44:32 +0000

“Hydrophobia” was the usual layman’s term for the disease until well into the 1960s, at least in North America. “Rabies” was medical terminology; a mid-century doctor would no more use the word “rabies” to describe the disease to patients than he would use the phase “myocardial infarction” to describe a heart attack.

When my parents took their cat to be vaccinated for the first time in the late 60s, they didn’t know what the word “rabies” meant, but they were well acquainted with hydrophobia.

By: Will

Will — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 15:38:03 +0000

I just recently watched the movie Quarantine, which has some connection to this post. What an odd coincidence.

By: FlowerPower

FlowerPower — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:44:56 +0000

I take it rabies shots for dogs weren’t common in those days? Otherwise this certainly works as a cautionary tale for making sure Fido is always up to date.