Nine people, including two minor children and five veterinary workers, were advised to seek rabies post-exposure treatment after a Brown County Hereford heifer tested positive for the virus, the Minnesota Board of Animal Health said Thursday.
The animal tested positive Sept. 8 at the Minnesota Department of Health Public Health Laboratory, according to a press release dated Sept. 17 . The health department recommended treatment for the owner, the owner's daughter, two minor children, two of the veterinarians who examined the animal and three veterinary technicians who assisted. All may have been exposed to the animal's saliva.
ADVERTISEMENT
According to the board, rabies is a preventable viral disease of mammals that attacks the central nervous system, causing encephalopathy and death. It is most often transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal, though saliva entering the eyes, nose, mouth or a fresh open wound can also expose a person. Post-exposure treatment consists of human rabies immune globulin and a series of rabies vaccinations given at specified intervals.
According to the release, the owner noticed the heifer behaving oddly Sept. 1, lying flat with its head down, and after a veterinarian examined it that day, the owner administered oral medication with bare hands. A second veterinarian examined the animal the next day and also gave oral medication without gloves. On Sept. 3, a third veterinarian found the animal had uncoordinated hind legs, was high-stepping, vocalizing, hypersalivating and had a high temperature. It was euthanized and its head was removed for testing.
"When we see livestock acting strangely, rabies may not be the first thing people think of to explain the behavior," said Steve Kivisto, the senior veterinarian who leads the board's rabies program, in the release. "Given the severity of the disease, it's better to assume an animal is infected until proven otherwise, and to be sure to take the proper precautions and use the correct personal protective equipment when working with a rabies suspect animal."
The board, which holds unvaccinated exposed animals 45 to 180 days, said that it has quarantined 13 cows, while more than 40 cattle will be kept under observation. A horse on the property was possibly exposed but is current on its vaccinations and will be watched, along with three vaccinated dogs. Two unvaccinated barn cats with likely exposure were euthanized.
Skunks and bats are the natural carriers of rabies in Minnesota, according to the release, and wild animals, especially bats, account for most of the state's reported cases each year. Fewer than 15% of cases reported annually occur in domestic species, most commonly cattle, cats and dogs.
"Numerous skunks were observed earlier this year on a neighboring plot of land owned by a relative that adjoins the area where the heifer was held," read the press release, but it was not stated whether any of the skunks were tested and did not identify a confirmed source of the heifer's infection.
Rabies in Minnesota cattle has climbed since 2024, when seven animals tested positive statewide, up from the three that tested positive in 2023. In June, the Minnesota Board of Animal Health joined animal health officials in Iowa, South Dakota and Nebraska in a notification that counted 10 rabid cattle across three states since 2024, with seven of them being dairy animals. The four-state region logged 25 rabid skunks over the same period. Livestock are generally tested only after someone reports an animal sick, and the board said the real count is probably higher than what gets confirmed.
ADVERTISEMENT
Clinical signs vary by species and by the strain of the virus, but most infected animals show behavioral changes or neurological signs. According to the board, cattle may bellow frequently and have trouble walking and swallowing. Incubation in domestic animals runs two to 26 weeks depending on where the animal was bitten and how much virus entered the body, and most show signs and die within three to 12 weeks.
Clusters of rabies have happened in recent years in the state, as five of 35 steers on a Stearns County dairy farm developed neurologic signs over four weeks in May 2024, according to a report published in December by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Three were confirmed positive for the North Central skunk variant. Investigators concluded that a single rabid skunk had likely bitten several steers penned together, though they could not rule out transmission between the steers. The herd's 45-day quarantine was extended to 120 days as more animals fell ill. Twelve unvaccinated farm cats were euthanized.
Five people were referred for treatment in that case. Direct medical and veterinary costs ran about $35,000, roughly $32,000 of it treatment for four family members. Farm business insurance and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Livestock Indemnity Program generally do not cover those losses.
Vaccinating cattle costs $12 to $30 a head, the board said in June.
"Vaccination is very effective and directly saves the lives of exposed animals," Kivisto said. "Vaccines are readily available for dogs, cats, ferrets, cattle, horses and sheep." Vaccines are responsible for a substantial decrease in human rabies cases over the past century, the board said.
The board recommends producers vaccinate animals in their care, keep strays and wildlife away from pets and livestock, avoid approaching unfamiliar or wild animals, and report strays or animals acting unusually to local animal control.
Producers can reach the board at 651-201-6808. The health department's line for human exposure questions is 651-201-5414.