Arizona sees surge in rabies outbreak

The state of Arizona is being hit with the biggest outbreak of rabies that it has seen in a while, according to state veterinarian Elisabeth Lawaczeck.

Phoenix resident Marisa Kopelva, 21, learned this the hard way when she was bitten by a rabid bat at a family get-together in Northern Arizona.

“Something flew at me…I didn’t know what it was,” Kopelva told KTAR. “I remember fumbling with it a lot. It was really fury. It bit me and it flew away.”

Kopelva was taken to the emergency room where she was treated for rabies. She had to undergo a series of painful shots that lasted six months.

“The needle was really long and it was really thick. I remember the substance that they used was pink, and that was probably the most painful thing that I’ve ever had to endure,” said Kopelva.

With the current outbreak of rabies, Lawaczeck says people should take precautions when they go hiking or camping.

“When you’re camping you want to make sure you are sleeping inside a tent and not just on the ground or on a tarp. When you’re hiking on the trails you should take a hiking stick if you are in an area where there is reported rabies in the past,” Lawaczeck told KTAR.

Lawaczeck also said most rabies cases occur in skunks and foxes in Southern Arizona but there have been recent outbreaks in the Flagstaff area as well.

So far this year there has been 62 animals confirmed with rabies, according to Lawaczeck.

Source: ktar.com

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