The Taitung County Taitung Animal Disease Control Center has expressed concern that rabies might have spread after Taimali Township (太麻里) reported its first case of the disease.
After an outbreak of rabies in the county in July 2013 — the first resurfacing of the disease in the nation since 1961 — only townships in mountainous regions or on the coast first reported cases, after which the disease spread to Taitung City and surrounding valleys.
Center Director Wu Tze-he (吳子和) said that apart from the county’s outlaying islands, all townships that have sent samples for examination have confirmed rabies cases.
Only two townships — Tawu (大武) and Jinfeng (金峰) — have not sent in specimens, but Wu said that he suspects the disease could have made its way into them, too.
Taitung has reported 222 rabies cases since July 2013, involving ferret-badgers (218 cases), masked palm civets (two cases), house shrews (one case) and a puppy that was bitten by a ferret-badger.
The Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine has called on pet owners to have their dogs and cats vaccinated against rabies to ensure the safety of both animals and humans.
Bureau statistics show that from 2013 to Thursday, it had tested 1,556 animal specimens nationwide, and 482 ferret-badgers, five masked palm civets, one household shrew and one puppy had tested positive.
The bureau said that 70 townships in nine counties and cities have reported rabies cases.
The disease has largely been confined to wild ferret-badgers so far, with only a few cases involving masked palm civets.
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