Paso 8-B
May 6. 1!)81
Family
Medicine
Mad dos loose! Mad dog loose!
It's been many years since
coininunities in North
{’arolina-indeed the nation-
froze in fear upon hearing that
plaintive cry. And. while chances
of being bitten by a rabid animal
is perhaps not as great now as it
once was, the disease is just as
agonizingly deadly as it ever
was.
Effective vaccine has nearly
eliminated rabies in domestic
animals, according to Dr. John
Freeman, head of the Veterinary
Public Health Branch of the
State Health Department. But, it
appears, it is a caldron that
threatens to boil again.
Since 1965, ^n epidemic of
rabies in Florida among
raccoons has spread west to
Mississippi and north to about 14
miles from the North Carolina-
vSouth Carolina border. Hundreds
of raccoons have been examined
and found to rabid in the area
and. Dr. Freeman points out,
infection of dogs and cats has
picked up correspondingly.
“I am confident that we are
going to have an epidemic of
rabies in North Carolina,” Dr.
Freeman affirmed. “There is a
certain interface between dogs,
cats, and wild animals and, if
they are not protected, rabies
will spread to domestic pets. We
have time to get our house in
order but we must start now. It’s
frightening to look at the amount
of contact between man and his
pets and consider the possibility
of their exposure to rabid
wildlife. There is nothing we can
do to stop rabies in raccoons, but
we can immunize the dog and cat
population,” Freeman asserted.
The public health specialist
said there are some two million
dogs and cats in North Carolina
and only about half have been
vaccinated against rabies. State
law requires that all dogs over
four months old be immunized.
Three counties and one city have
also passed ordinances requiring
that cats be inununized against
rabies.
“People are not motivated to
act nowadays,” Dr. Freeman
said, “because there is little
consequence for not complying
with the law in many localities.
Generally speaking, local
attitudes towards enforcement is
lax and, as a result, people have
become lax. Another factor
contributing to lax attitudes is
the lack of fear of the disease-
there has not been a case of
canine rabies in North Carolina
since 1969. The last human death
was in 1955-the result of a dog
bite. If enforcement was the
same for rabies vaccination as it
is for license plates, we would
have acceptable compliance.”
What is this sinister virus that
scrambles brain circuits and
turns human beings into
frothing, transfixed bundles of
rage waiting impatiently for
merciful death? Dr. Freeman
explained that the rabies virus
attacks brain cells and produces
destructive changes in the
central nervous system. Muscles
that control swallowing become
spastic to the extent that the
patient’s insatiable thirst cannot
be quenched. Thus its name-
hydrophobia. Light and sound
are intolerable. It is a cruel, al
most certain death-a dreaded
disease.
Dr. Freeman recommends
that all meat-eating animals
(carnivores) and bats who bite
someone be captured and a
specimen sent to the State
Laboratory for examination. He
warned that dogs and cats should
also be examined if they have not
been immunized or are unknown
to the victim. Otherwise, a
domestic animal that bites
should be observed for 10 days.
He said animals classified as
rodents do not transmit rabies
and should not be examined.
Dr. Freeman urged those who
want to send a specimen to the
State Laboratory for
examination for rabies to contact
their county health department
or county animal control officer
for assistance. “There is some
risk in handling specimens,” he
cautioned, “and those people
know how.” He noted that it is
against postal regulations to
send specimens through the
mail.
Nearly all counties in the state
will hold rabies clinics during the
next month or so at a reduced
rate. Residents of those counties
that do not have animal control
programs should have their pets
inununized at the office of a
veterinarian.
U.S. CHOICE BEEF
WHOLE
TV
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SIRLOIN TIPS
U.S. GRADE 'A'
YOUNG
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9 TO 12-LB.
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BEEF
jai
TURKEY
BREAST
LEAN BONELESS
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TURKEY
HOLLY
FARMS
U.S. GRADE 'A'
FRYER THIGHS
TV
SPECIAL
OR DRUMSTICKS
Chicken Drumsticks
Chicken Thighs
LB.
OLD VIRGINIE
SLICED
BACON
TV
SPECIAL
HICKORY MOUNTAIN
Ide
idipei
OR OLDE
SMITHFIELD
HOT OR MILD PORK
SAUSAGE
1^ WHOLE
COUNTRY HAMS
(SLICED FREE)
CUUNIHY 5TTLE
HAm.
PRICES GOOD
THRU SAT. MAY 9,
1981 QUANTITY
RIGHTS RESERVED
NONE SOLD TO
RESTAURANTS OR
DEALERS
0l9
STORE HOURS: 8 A,AA. to 10 PM. A/lon.
thru Sat. SUNDAY 9 A.M. to 7 P.M.
Corner of Morganton Road and Bennett
Street--15-501 at Kmart Plaza.
GWALTNEY'S
HOT OR MILD PORK
SAUSAGE
COMPARE BIG STAR’S
BASIC VALUES!
100-CNT. BOX
KLEENEX FACIAL
•TISSUE
14-OZ. AJAX
CLEANSER
14-OZ. FRANCO-
AMERICAN
$]98
•SPAGHEHI-O'S
Ibe iDexpensIve Way
Id Shop
U.S. CHOICE BEEF
LEAN BONELESS
•CHUCK POT ROAST
LB
LEAN BONELESS
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LB
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3-LBS. OR MORE LB.
POST TOASTIES
CORN
FLAKES
1-LB. PKG
TOV
TOP QUALITY MARKET STYLE
SLICED BACON
2-LBS. OR MORE LB.
98C
HY-GRADE BALL PARK
MEAT FRANKS OR
KNOCKWURST mb pkg
$p8
STAR'S PIMENTO CHEESE
SPREAD 14-OZ. CUP
$] 19
OLD HICKORY PORK
BARBECUE
$^B8
OSCAR MAYER FINE QUALITY
LEAN 'N TASTY
PORK OR BEEF , .
•BREAKFAST STRIPS 12-OZ. PKG. ^ 1
LITTLE LINK BREAKFAST
•SAUSAGE LB. M”
BRAUNSCHWEIGER LIVER
•SAUSAGE B-oz. PKG 78C
VARIETY PACK LUNCH MEATS
•REG. 12-OZ. PKG. *r*»BEEF 12-OZ. PBK. *!*•
•COOKED HAM *-OZ. PKG. *1^* 12.0Z. PKG. *2‘*
FRESH DRESSED
•FLOUNDER LB. M’’•FLOUNDER FILLET lb. *2”
GORTON'S BATTERFRIED
•FISH FILLET 24-OZ. PKG. ’S'"
•PERCH FILLETS 12-OZ. PKB. »1“
FISH
STICKS
GORTON'S
15-OZ. PKG.
n
58
l^es
18-OZ.
BOX
79(
BAKE RITE
SHORTENING
3-LB.
CAN
CHASE & SANBORN
TEA BAGS
100
CNT.
BOX
19
PET I icFcUm
•SANDWICHES
12-PAK
•BROWN MULE BARS
$]49
12-PAK.
BREYERS
ICE CREAM
QT.
$|59
$]49
ANOTHER BIG STAR
BASIC VALUE!
HI-DRI
PAPER
TOWELS
FARM CHARM
ICE CREAM %-GAL.
FARM CHARM
SOUR CREAM 2 for99C
FARM CHARM^REG.^LOW FAT
COTTAGE CHEESE
24-OZ. CNT. M”
ORCHARD HILL
FRUIT PIES
•APPLE^PEACH
•COCONUT 8-OZ. BOX
ANOTHER BIG STAR
BASIC VALUE!
SEVEN SEAS
•FRENCH^ITALIAN
•1000 ISLAND
SALAD
DRESSING
NABISCO
CHIPS AHOY CHOC. CHIP
COOKIES 19-02. PKG. *r
•PREMIUM SALTINES
16-OZ. BOX 89
GREEN GIANT
CORN ON COB
99
12-OZ. CAN 79C
4-CNT. PKG.
MINUTE MAID
APPLE JUICE
ANOTHER BIG STAR
BASIC VALUE!
DEL MONTE
•SLICED^HALVES
PEACHES
JUMBO - — «
~49C
BTLS.