Rule 3701-3-29 | Biting animal to be confined; veterinarian to report.
(A) Biting dog, cat, or ferret.
(1) Whenever it is reported to the health commissioner of a health district that any dog, cat, or ferret has bitten or otherwise exposed an individual to rabies, that dog, cat, or ferret shall be quarantined under an order issued by the health commissioner of the health district in which the bite or exposure occurred.
(a) The dog, cat, or ferret shall be quarantined by its owner or by a harborer, or shall be quarantined in a pound or kennel.
(b) In all cases, said quarantine shall be under the supervision of the health commissioner and shall be at the expense of the owner or harborer.
(c) Any sign of illness in the quarantined dog, cat or ferret must be reported immediately to the health commissioner.
(d) Quarantine shall continue until the health commissioner of the health district in which the bite was inflicted determines pursuant to paragraph (A)(1)(f) of this rule that the dog, cat, or ferret is not afflicted with rabies.
(e) The quarantine period hereby required shall not be less than ten days from the date on which the person was bitten.
(f) If at any time during the quarantine, the health commissioner requires the dog, cat, or ferret to be examined for symptoms of rabies, then the examination shall be by a licensed doctor of veterinary medicine. The licensed doctor of veterinary medicine shall report to the health commissioner the conclusions reached as a result of the examinations. The examination by a licensed doctor of veterinary medicine shall be at the expense of the owner or harborer.
(g) No dog, cat, or ferret shall be released from the required quarantine unless and until it has a current rabies vaccination status as demonstrated by a rabies vaccination certificate signed by a licensed doctor of veterinary medicine.
(2) If any quarantined dog, cat, or ferret dies before the quarantine period expires, then the head of the dog, cat, or ferret shall be submitted to the Ohio department of health's bureau of public health laboratory for rabies examination.
(3) If the owner or harborer of the dog, cat, or ferret is unknown, the health commissioner may direct that the dog, cat, or ferret be humanely killed in which case the head of the dog, cat, or ferret shall be submitted to the Ohio department of health's bureau of public health laboratory for rabies examination.
(B) Other biting mammals including hybrids.
(1) Whenever it is reported to the health commissioner of the health district that any other mammal that is known to transmit rabies has bitten or otherwise exposed an individual to rabies, under an order issued by the health commissioner of the health district in which the bite or exposure occurred, the health commissioner may direct the immediate killing of said mammal by a suitable humane method.
(2) The brain of said mammal shall then be submitted to the Ohio department of health's bureau of public health laboratory for rabies examination.
(C) Any non-human mammal bitten by a known rabid mammal, or that had reasonable probability to have been bitten by a wild carnivorous mammal or bat that is not available for rabies testing shall be regarded as having been exposed to the rabies virus.
(1) Dogs, cats, ferrets not currently vaccinated against the rabies virus or when vaccination cannot be verified shall be humanely killed; or if sufficient justification for preserving the animal exists, the exposed dog, cat, ferret shall be quarantined in strict isolation under an order issued by the health commissioner of the health district in which the bite was inflicted. Isolation in this context refers to confinement in an enclosure that precludes direct contact with people and other animals.
(a) In all cases, said quarantine shall be under the supervision of the health commissioner and shall be at the expense of the owner or harborer. Any signs of illness in the dog, cat, or ferret must be reported immediately to the health commissioner.
(b) The quarantine period shall be for not less than four months for dogs and cats, and not less than six months for ferrets. The dog, cat, or ferret shall be vaccinated against rabies by a licensed doctor of veterinary medicine upon entry into quarantine. It is recommended that the period from exposure to vaccination not exceed ninety-six hours. If vaccination is delayed, public health officials may consider increasing the quarantine period for dogs and cats from four to six months.
(2) A rabies vaccine booster shall be administered immediately and the mammal quarantined under an order issued by the health commissioner of the health district in which the bite was inflicted under the following circumstances: mammals with a current rabies vaccination, dogs and cats overdue for rabies vaccination with documentation of previous vaccination(s) with a USDA-licensed rabies vaccine, and dogs and cats overdue for rabies vaccination lacking documentation but demonstrating an anamnestic response in paired blood samples.
(a) In all cases, said quarantine shall be under the supervision of the health commissioner and shall be at the expense of the owner or harborer. Any signs of illness in the dog, cat, or ferret must be reported immediately to the health commissioner.
(b) The quarantine period shall be for not less than forty-five days.
(3) Whenever it is known by the health comissioner of the health district that any other non-human mammal has been exposed to rabies, the health commissioner, at his or her discretion may direct the quarantine or immediate euthanizing of said mammal by a suitable humane method.
Supplemental Information