In response to pressure from the Township Council, the West Windsor Health Department will change the way it disseminates information on potential rabies hazards.##M:[more]##
In the past, the health department has issued press releases stating that rabid animals had been reported and caught, but did not specify the location. In the future, reports will include the area where the animal was caught.
The reason for withholding the information in the past, according to Health department manager Jill Swanson, is that if a rabid animal were caught in one section of town, people living in other areas should still exercise a similar level of caution.
Says Swanson: “”Most of the council members felt that if there was a rabid animal in their area, they would want to know. We’ll still be diligent in presenting the risk factor for other areas of town.””
Since 1989, when terrestrial rabies was first discovered to be in New Jersey, there have been 16 documented cases of rabies in West Windsor. There have been 289 in the state.
Another member of the Health Department, Marcie Tyson, detailed risk factors associated with ticks and West Nile Virus in a letter to the editor (see page 6).
Swanson said there have never been any documented cases of West Nile in West Windsor, but recommended that people take protection against mosquitoes by staying indoors at dawn and dusk, when they are most likely to strike, and by trying to control stagnant water on their property.
