Does the animal have rabies? Here are signs and symptoms to look out for
Rabies is an infectious disease that affects the central nervous system of mammals.
The Republic
Although the Navajo Nation has up to 250,000 dogs, the tribe’s animal protection program has struggled to adequately monitor and control rabies as a public health problem. A U.S. Senate bill now aims to reduce health risks in Indian Health Service areas where the risk of rabies from animal attacks remains high.
Navajo lawmakers passed legislation supporting S. 4365, introduced in May by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who is also vice chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. The bill, known as the Veterinary Services to Improve Public Health in Rural Communities Act, aims to address public health issues in rural and tribal communities.
The measure is intended to prevent and control zoonoses – diseases that are transmitted between animals and humans – by directing the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Indian Health Service to provide veterinary services to Native American tribes and tribal organizations, including spaying and neutering of domestic animals.
Studies show that Native American children suffer the most injuries from dog bites in the country, and rural Alaska has the highest rates of dog bite hospitalizations and rabies transmission.
“Unfortunately, outbreaks of rabies in wildlife populations are becoming increasingly common in Alaska,” Murkowski said. “Rural communities are at a disproportionately high risk of rabies transmission to humans due to uncontrolled dog populations in remote areas of Alaska – which is particularly concerning given the difficulty of providing health care in many rural and remote communities.”
Cindy Yurth, president of the Blackhat Humane Society, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) stray animal rescue organization, is one of many supporting the Navajo Nation Council’s approval of S. 4365.
“On the one hand, the Navajo Nation has a dire need for veterinary services, and the IHS already has the structure in place to provide those if it can hire enough veterinarians. On the other hand, I’m sad that the Nation has allowed its own veterinary program to atrophy to the point where it needs those services,” said Yurth, who also said if rabies were to break out on the Navajo Nation, “it would be a full-blown apocalypse.”
3,000 children and elderly people treated for animal attacks and bites
Between 2001 and 2008, the rate of dog bites among Native American children in the Southwest was 70% higher than the rate in the general U.S. population. An estimated 250,000 dogs live among the Navajo Nation, but the Navajo Nation’s animal control program lacks the resources to provide adequate housing and services, according to the Navajo Nation’s Washington office.
As a result, over 3,000 people – mostly children and the elderly – require treatment for animal attacks and bites each year. From 2012 to 2016, the Animal Control Program issued 68 citations under the National Rabies Control Code for non-compliance with rabies vaccination requirements.
The Navajo people have also experienced fatal dog attacks over the years, particularly among young and elderly people. A tragic incident occurred in 2021 when a pack of dogs fatally mauled a 13-year-old girl while she was out walking.
“Free-roaming dogs in the deserts of the southwestern United States are a clear threat to public safety. I have investigated a number of attacks that have occurred on Native American lands, including Navajo territory,” said Dr. James W. Crosby, a research associate with the Canine Brain Project.
“In these areas, most deaths are due to stray, unsupervised, and most likely reproductively intact domesticated dogs that have reverted to a near-feral state,” Crosby said. “The most common victim in this geographic region is a person who is alone, often traveling on foot, in Indigenous areas where even basic animal control resources do not exist.”
He stressed that while charities like Blackhat provide valuable assistance, it is critical to provide federal funding to combat fatal dog attacks, expand veterinary care to humanely reduce the dog population, and mitigate the public health risks associated with dog bites.
Founded in 2000, the Blackhat Humane Society has rescued up to 200,000 abandoned and stray animals in the Navajo Territory and also works to spay and neuter pets. Supported by a network of volunteer foster families in Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado, Blackhat helps rehabilitate and find permanent homes for rescued dogs and cats.
The organization also provides food, vaccinations, spay and neuter services, and veterinary support to foster animals and to pets whose owners cannot afford adequate veterinary care.
Yurth said she was amazed when she moved to Chinle in 2005 to find a fully functioning veterinary clinic that seemed to make locals proud. She noted that the clinics charged minimal fees and were partially self-sustaining.
“Leaving veterinary care to the IHS seems like a loss of sovereignty,” said Yurth. “But we definitely have to do something. The number of stray dogs has skyrocketed and every family seems to have a member who has suffered a serious dog bite.”
Murkowski added that while vaccinations and volunteer veterinary services could solve the problem, they could not keep up with the increasing demand for care.
“My bill would strengthen Alaska’s veterinary workforce and help create healthier, safer communities across the state,” she said.
The Veterinary Services to Improve Public Health in Rural Communities Act would:
- To amend the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to authorize IHS to provide public health veterinary services to tribes and tribal organizations in IHS areas where zoonotic diseases are endemic and the risk of transmission is high due to uncontrolled dog populations.
- Allow tribes and tribal organizations to receive IHS funding for such services. These services would include eligibility to spay and neuter dogs.
- Provide the IHS with veterinary officers from the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps.
- Direct IHS to coordinate efforts with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
- Direct the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Wildlife Services to conduct a feasibility study to introduce and improve the administration of an oral rabies vaccine in the Arctic regions of the country.
There are benefits and concerns
Given the estimated number of dogs on the reservation and the significant number of documented violations of rabies controls by Navajo Nation Animal Control, the Navajo Nation appears to meet the basic criteria for assistance, said Justin Ahasteen, executive director of the Navajo Nation’s Washington office. The bill would fund the spaying and neutering of companion animals such as dogs, helping to reduce the dog population and the risk of dog attacks and rabies cases.
“In addition, the Nation’s surveillance, epidemiology, control, prevention, elimination, and vaccination services described in the bill would assist in monitoring and treating unvaccinated dogs,” Ahasteen said. “These vaccination efforts would also complement the Navajo Nation Animal Control Program’s enforcement of the Rabies Control Code.”
According to this code, dog and cat owners are required to have their pets vaccinated against rabies.
The bill would require consultation with tribes to determine the formula for allocating funds, he added.
One problem with the bill is that it only provides for the spaying and neutering of domestic animals. Given the large population of feral dogs in the Navajo Territory, expanding support to include the spaying and neutering of feral dogs would also be very useful.
“The rest of the services offered in the bill are not specifically limited to pets,” Ahasteen said. “One practical problem with this bill is that it does not specify where the additional funding will come from to deploy the veterinary officers and provide their various services. Currently, funding for dog bites and rabies in tribal communities comes through IHS’s Environmental Health Services. It is unclear how much of the EHS funding is currently being used for dog bites and rabies.”
While Yurth supports S. 4365, he is “skeptical that the IHS – which has trouble recruiting doctors and nurses – can find veterans willing to live and work on the reservation. But I know there are quite a few young Navajos going into the field, so at least some of them would like to come home.”
Arlyssa D. Becenti covers indigenous issues for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. Send ideas and tips to [email protected].
