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Sunday, May 09, 1993     Page: OUTDOORS QUICK WORDS: RABIES CASES ARE
ON THE RISE

Rabies cases are on the rise statewide
   
Pennsylvania health officials report nearly 13 percent more rabies cases
during the first four months of the yearAs of April 30, 116 rabies cases had
been reported statewide, up from 103 during the same period last year, state
Health Department spokesman Bruce G. Reimer said.
    Pennsylvania led the nation in 1989 and 1990 for reported rabies cases,
hitting 702 in 1989. In 1991 there were 363 cases reported and last year there
were 361 cases.
   
Officials say rabies may be on the rise because trapping license sales are
down more than 50 percent since the mid-1980s.
   
Trapping helps control the raccoon, skunk and fox populations, said Jerry
Zeidler of the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
   
Forty-two cases of rabies were reported in March, the month of a
devastating blizzard, Reimer said. The weather should have minimized contact
between people and animals, Reimer said.
   
Terry D. Wills, a wildlife conservation officer, said he’s seen an unusual
number of raccoons during daylight hours in the past couple of weeks. The
animals are the most common carriers of rabies.