The rabid cat that bit a Fort Oglethorpe woman last week is the latest in a rising number of rabies cases in Northwest Georgia.
"In our district we're well on pace to exceed any rabies numbers that we've had," said Jon Klepper, environmental health manager with the Northwest Georgia Public Health District.
The cat last week in Catoosa County was the 27th case of rabies so far this year in the 10-county Northwest Georgia district, up from 20 last year and a low of seven in 2006.
Klepper said he's not sure of the reason for the uptick, but it seems to come from increasing numbers of reported rabies cases on the southern end of the district, which extends to Paulding and Polk counties.
"There are cycles that go through," he said.
Counties on the northern end of the district have not seen the increase as much, he said, which he attributed to the raccoon vaccination baiting program in Catoosa, Walker and other counties.
"The numbers in the bait area are not coming back up," Klepper said.
Southeast Tennessee has seen nine cases so far this year compared to just one in 2009. But 2010 seems to be more in line with the nine rabid animals caught in 2008.
"I haven't noticed any patterns to it, really," said Eric Coffey, general environmental health manager for the Southeast Tennessee Public Health Region.
John Dunn, deputy state epidemiologist for Tennessee Department of Health, said it's tough to say what factors influence high counts of rabies. Since most rabid animals remain in the woods and are never seen by humans, most reports are based on somewhat random human-animal interactions.
"Certainly there is some under-reporting," Dunn said. "We only catch those where there is an action for us to take."
Coffey said most of the rabid animals in the state's eastern counties are raccoons, but skunks and bats account for most of numbers in the Sequatchie Valley.
Both he and Klepper urged residents to report any pet animal that suddenly changes its normal behavior or becomes lethargic, as well as any wild animals that are acting outside of their normal patterns, such as bats or raccoons coming out in the daytime.