NEWS BRIEFS
RACCOONS ON THE LOOSE
If you want to prepare a raccoon before cooking it, consult
the 1970s edition of Joy of Cooking, which says “remove all
fat, inside and out,” and then soak it in saltwater overnight in
the refrigerator. But a more likely conundrum in Eugene these
days might be: What if one bites you without being provoked?
On July 16, Zondie Zinke and her partner Otis
Haschemeyer were enjoying a nighttime stroll with their two
young children and dog when multiple raccoons came out of
the hedge and became very aggressive, scratching Zinke and
going after Haschemeyer. Both of them were bit at least once,
she says.
Although they had a dog with them and they were near
garbage cans, the aggression didn’t seem warranted. “I
immediately thought rabies,” she says. The couple cleaned
their wounds and sought out their medical provider. They
were told by their physician that it wouldn’t be necessary to
get rabies shots because of the unlikelihood of the raccoons
they encountered carrying the disease.
According to a 2010 Oregon Department of Health report,
bats are the most common carrier of rabies in the state, with
an estimated 10 percent of the population infected. Although
raccoons like any mammal can carry the disease, they are not
often considered likely candidates. “Raccoon is not one I
think of as being common with rabies,” says Brian Wolfer, a
wildlife biologist for Oregon Department of Fish and
Wildlife.
But Zinke wasn’t reassured by her doctor. She did some
internet research and found cases in some states where even
though rabies hadn’t shown up in raccoons for nearly 50
years, someone had contracted it from one recently.
Zinke and her partner went back and got the rabies shots.
The doctor’s hesitance to administer them was off-putting,
she says. She believes it was much more difficult than it
should have been for them to be treated, especially since if
untreated, a person can die of the disease.
8 JULY 26, 2012
EUGENE WEEKLY
Lane County does not currently provide wildlife control
services. In order for the raccoon(s) that bit Zinke and her
partner to be confirmed carriers they would have to be caught
and tested. Wolfer says that the raccoon would have to be
caught right away to make sure it was the right one.
How the raccoon would be caught is a little unclear. The
Lane County website suggests trapping it in a box and calling
a service provider like ODFW, listed on the site. Live traps
are available at many feed and home stores. According to
Patrick Luedtke, Public Health Officer for Lane County
Health and Human Services, calling the Communicable
Disease Division of Oregon Department of Public Health
might be a good step forward in finding out whether a bite
might be from a rabies carrier.
— Ted Shorack
LIGHTEN UP
Before Obamacare, trying to get your health insurance
company to pay your medical bills could be like trying to
get your ex-wife to agree to lower alimony payments. If
you miss those wonderful times, vote Republican.
BY R A FA E L A L DAV E
WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM