Think rabies is a thing of the past? Think again

(BPT) - Most of us know what rabies is, but it's not something we think about often. Thanks to public health education, mandatory pet vaccinations and the wildlife oral rabies vaccination program, rabies cases in the U.S. have dropped dramatically in the past 15 years. But unfortunately this severe disease is still reported across the country, making rabies a continued public health threat. What do you need to know to keep your family, pets and community safe?

Controlling rabies cases

Although steps to control pet and wildlife rabies cases have reduced the risk to humans, rabies is still a threat because if it's not treated immediately, it has the highest case-fatality rate of any infectious disease. Transmitted by the saliva of an infected animal, rabies can be prevented by prompt medical care. If exposure is suspected, contact your health care professional immediately.

Continued diligence in vaccination programs for pets, livestock and wildlife is needed to lower the threat of rabies. Make sure to keep your pets up to date on their immunizations and get involved in your community's efforts in controlling the disease in the wildlife population.

Controlling and preventing rabies requires several proactive efforts. First, pet owners must understand the need for pets to get vaccinated on a regular basis. Second, seek immediate treatment if pets are bitten by an infected animal. Finally, efforts to decrease the disease among wild animals must be made.

Approximately 92 percent of all animal rabies cases in the United States occur in wildlife, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Animals that are most likely to be infected with rabies in the U.S. include raccoons, skunks, bats and foxes. Public health programs, such as those that vaccinate wildlife against rabies, help reduce rabies exposure and the spread of the disease to pets, livestock and people.

Wildlife treatment efforts

Managing rabies in the wildlife population is a complex task. Fifteen years ago the Federal government created a program that uses the first and only oral rabies vaccine for wildlife, RABORAL V-RG, to reduce this infectious disease.

"Oral rabies vaccines are provided to wild animals in the form of consumable baits," explains Dr. Joanne Maki, veterinary public health technical director for Merial, maker of RABORAL V-RG. "These baits are placed strategically throughout the country where wildlife at risk of exposure to rabies will eat them. This approach has prevented rabies transmission in wild animals, particularly raccoons, coyote and foxes.- Vaccinating wildlife is a comprehensive approach that helps keep pets, livestock and people safe from rabies as well."

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Bug out bag tips you won't find anywhere else

You may have a "bug out bag," but is it optimized for maximum efficiency and survival? There are several items that may help you make the most out of your survival bag.

The bug out bag is one of the most ubiquitous concepts amongst survivalists, but if you're unfamiliar with the term, here's the gist:

A bug out bag is a bag, usually a backpack, filled with basic items you need to survive 72 hours in a survival situation. Usually the bug out bag is only meant to help you survive until you arrive at a bug out location, which is usually stocked with more long-term survival supplies.

There's a plethora of information on bug out bags out there, including itineraries of basic supplies you should include. Your basic needs are water, shelter, food, and heat.

Here are a few tips and suggestions for items that I haven't seen listed elsewhere. They just might make the difference when you're forced to use your bug out bag.

Water

Water is going to take up a lot of room and add a lot of weight to your bag. Make sure you use a pack that has external water bottle holders on each side. You can use at least one to hold a water bottle, saving room inside. (You might want to save the other one to hold fuel for a camp stove). Keeping liquids outside the pack prevents them from ruining the contents of your bag if they leak.

A canteen will provide more water. You can use a clip to secure it to the outside of your pack so if you have to grab the bag and go, you have the canteen with you. But the canteen should also have a strap so you can carry it on your shoulder or around your neck. Make sure to use an aluminum or steel canteen so you can boil water in it. Check out these examples on Amazon:

Rothco 422 G.I. Style Aluminum Canteen and Cover, 1 Quart |  Canteen Stainless Steel

This water will only last you so long, and you may need to get more. When you acquire water, you run into two problems: you need to store water, and you need to purify water.

Storage isn't a huge problem, because you presumably already have a water bottle and a canteen. But what if water is scarce and you need to store more of it than just that in your canteen and water bottle?

Your best option is a foldable water bag, like this one by Coghlan's. It's made of urethane coated nylon and weighs just three ounces. You can fold it up small enough to fit in your pocket, yet it will hold 2.5 gallons of water.

Once you have sufficient means of storing water, you have to purify it. Water purification tablets and water filter straws are your two most portable options and thus the most useful for your bug out bag. Chlorine dioxide tablets are supposed to be effective against "Proven effective against bacteria, Giardia, Lamblia, Crystosporidium, and viruses," according to the product description for Portable Aqua's chlorine dioxide tablets on Amazon.

Potable Aqua Chlorine Dioxide Tablets

While water purification tablets are an effective solution, you'll run out of them eventually. Another option for water purification is a water filter straw, such as the LifeStraw, available at Amazon. The straw's filter should work for a long time. Between tablets and a straw filter, you should be able to get fresh water for a long time.

LifeStraw Personal Water Filter

Shelter

 Don't overdo it on shelter supplies. A tent can add a lot of weight and take up a lot of room in a bug out bag. As I see it, you have three optimal solutions: a small backpacking tent, a tube tent or a tarp.


A tent is the most complex option, having the most parts (stakes, poles, etc.) but also probably offers the most comfort and the most protection from the elements. Here are some tents for consideration that are available from Amazon:

Texsport Saguaro Bivy Shelter Tent |  Texsport Willowbend Trail Tent

Tube tents are basically a tube-shaped piece of material, often plastic, that is held up with cord or rope. Each end of the rope is tied to a tree or something else to keep it suspended. Tube tents are simple to use and cheap to buy, but I've found that if you don't have something handy to tie the rope to, they can be a little inconvenient. You may be able to improve poles with branches and other materials available to you. They also are not enclosed like a tent, so you may be somewhat more exposed. Here are links to some tube tents available from Amazon:

Tube Tent |  Coghlans Emergency Tube Tent

Your third option is simply a tarp and some rope or cord. As with the tube tent, it's not the most convenient and may leave you somewhat exposed, but it's an extremely lightweight and space-saving option.

Food

 There's not a lot on food that hasn't been written about elsewhere. I will just say that freeze dried food is always a convenient and space-saving, albeit very expensive, option. That being said, big-box stores tend to have some decent, if not cheap, prices on freeze dried hiking food.

Tips for the Budget-Minded

Compiling a bug out bag can be expensive business, but it doesn't have to be. Here are some tips for budget-conscious preppers who may not be able to afford all the bells and whistles.

• Optimally, you're going to want some kind of mess kit, including a small pot for cooking. But if you're really strapped for cash, include a can of vegetables, beans or soup in your bug out bag instead. When you're ready to eat, peel off any labeling on the can and cook the contents right in the can. Be sure to save it -- you can use it as a pot to cook food or boil water in.
• A camping stove makes cooking much easier than building a fire. Smoke from a fire will draw attention; cooking on a fuel stove instead will help you keep a low profile. Propane tanks can add a lot of bulk and while generally safe, having fuel under pressure is potentially a fire hazard. I prefer an alcohol stove, and you can make one cheaply and relatively easily with these instructions. Then again, if you want to put in that effort, you can buy one for less than $20 on Amazon: Trangia Spirit Alcohol Stove. You can use Heet as fuel: HEET 28201 Gas-Line Antifreeze and Water Remover - 12 Fl oz.

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