Protecting Neighbors, Pets: Rabies In Roosevelt County

Rabies is one of the oldest known infectious diseases, recognized more than 4,000 years ago. Because it is a virus, antibiotics cannot kill it. Rabies a_ects only mammals and has the highest fatality rate of any disease-causing organism — nearly 100 percent.

In the United States, there are one to three cases of human rabies annually and there have been no deaths in Montana from rabies for the past 25 years.

In Montana, of all animals tested for rabies in 2025, bats and skunks tested positive for rabies the most often. Dogs, cats and livestock rarely test positive.

Though dogs and cats are not the animals most frequently infected with rabies in Roosevelt County, they are the animals that most frequently bite humans. Dogs and cats can be bitten by bats and skunks during their daily (or nightly) lives. When a person is bitten, no one knows whether the biting animal is infected with rabies. With a 100 percent fatal disease, the situation must be investigated and monitored. That is the role of Public Health, and the reason possible exposures are reportable. Managing possible rabies exposures requires understanding how rabies infects mammals and spreads. Humans typically get rabies through a bite or scratch from an animal infected with the virus.

Through science, it is known that the longest amount of time dogs, cats, ferrets, or cattle can be infectious with rabies is 10 days. If an animal has rabies and can transmit it to a human, that animal will be either seriously ill or dead within 10 days. Conversely, if an animal is healthy 10 days after biting someone, it did not have rabies at the time of the bite. That is only known to be true for dogs, cats, ferrets, and cattle. If the dog cannot be observed for 10 days, if it cannot be located, or identifi ed by the person who was bitten, or if the animal is dead, no one can determine whether it had rabies when the person was bitten.

Bat bites require special consideration, because of several di_erences between bats and dogs. About 7 in 10 cases of US human rabies cases are bat-caused because those bites are very small and often undetected. People can be exposed to bats while sleeping or altered. Young children are extremely susceptible to bites when they are unattended outdoors. If you see a bat, it is safest to assume that it is a sick bat. Normal roosting and flying behaviors do not expose people to undetected bat bites, and all that is to assure readers that about 92 percent of bats tested in Montana are not rabid.

Fortunately, there are medications that can protect a person from rabies. They are costly however, and require more than one injection, so it is important to gather all the facts to understand if this is a treatment to be recommended.

Once reported, public health personnel at Roosevelt County Health Department or Fort Peck Tribal Health investigate the circumstances of the possible exposure and recommend an appropriate quarantine location (dog, cat, or ferret) or inform the person whether treatment is recommended or not.

Montana code requires Public Health to document treatment recommendations and/or administration. Montana code also states that law enforcement is allowed to assist in making sure that these recommendations are followed and that it is unlawful to obstruct this process. These statewide rules are further evidence that this is a serious issue and needs to be handled correctly.

Rabies control and specifically dog bites in a community require the cooperation of everyone. All towns in Roosevelt County limit the number of animals a residence is allowed, require pets to be vaccinated for rabies, to be contained on the property, to wear a collar and to be on a leash when o_ the property. These ordinances are necessary to create protected communities. These are limits placed because people are trying to live together near one another in a safe manner.

If enough residents don’t follow animal ordinances, hide illegal breeds of dogs, use animals as weapons instead of pets, then it overwhelms what communities can manage for animal control and law enforcement. It’s a recipe for a risky environment where children are not safe to ride their bikes, people are not safe to go for a walk, where people are forced to pay the $10,000 that rabies treatment costs to protect themselves after a bite.

Rabies is 100 percent fatal. Rabies is 100 percent preventable. Rabies control can be complicated.

For more information, go to CDC.gov or contact the Roosevelt County Health Department at 124 Custer Ste. A Wolf Point, MT 59201, 406653-6223.