ZILKER PARK RABID DOG A CASE STUDY
Overview General background information Program s role Rabies in Central Texas Illustrative & singularly focused Exposure and notification The investigation Multi-agency coordination Media and community engagement Challenges Lessons learned Conclusion
Austin/Travis County Demographics Population Demographics Area
Animal Services Office (ASO) Largest no-kill open intake animal shelter Dual-jurisdictional program Annual intake Annual call volume Percent increase per year Annual investigations Percent increase per year Percent increase relative to population
Rabies Exposure Investigation Process External Police, sheriff, or hospital report bite incident Lab results are reported to ASO and State State reports to CDC Internal Animal Protection confirms exposure Animal Protection establishes quarantine Rabies Clerk submits report to State Disease Surveillance provides medical recommendation
Rabies in Travis County YEAR BAT CAT DOG SKUNK OTHER TOTAL 2014 115 115 2015 101 1 1 1 104 2016* 16 1 17
DAY 1: Notification Rabid Dog Owner Owner: Sammy Recently moved to Austin Property Owner Owner: Ike Rented room to rabid dog owner Vet Clinic State investigating
DAY 1: Roles & Responsibilities State Health Department - Region 7 Interview and assess risk Vet clinic staff Requests assistance with confirming PEP follow-up Rabid dog owner Requests assistance with establishing HO Ike Animal Protection & Disease Surveillance Interview rabid dog owner & property owner Inspect property Eliminate/confirm risk to neighboring animals Confirm vaccine status Ike Establish HO Ike
DAY 1: Property Inspection & Initial Interview What we knew at the time Sammy arrived in Austin on February 7th One neighbor had outside dogs Sammy spent unsupervised time in backyard Another dog lived with Sammy
Property Inspection
DAY 2: Identify & Interview Additional Victims / Establish Timeline ZILKER Unknown number of contacts Friend 1 Friend of rabid dog owner Friend 2 Owner: Charlie Friend of rabid dog owner REST. 1 Waiter Friend 3 Owner: Rocky Friend of rabid dog owner
Symptom Onset Timeline
Infectious Period Timeline
Infectious Period & Post Exposure Timeline S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
DAY 2: Restaurant 1
DAY 2: Interview Friend 3 Initially: Confirms: Owner of 16wk old puppy, Rocky Rocky is unvaccinated Went to Zilker Park and restaurant Denies: Rocky had any contact with Sammy He had any saliva exposure to Sammy Concludes with: Confirming: Rocky did have extended contact with Sammy He had kept Sammy for several hours while owner ran errands A child played with Sammy at Zilker Rocky was placed under 90- day HO Signed HO Agreement
Zilker Park February 8, 2015 Weather Week prior 43/38 Sunday - 75/50 1 st warm, sunny day Popular destination Leash-free area Extended park visit 3 hours
DAY 2: Press Release
DAY 3: Interview Friend 2 Owner of Charlie Set 45 day quarantine Began PEP Statement: Confirms timeline Confirms contact with Sammy Reveals a child victim Visited two additional restaurants
DAY 3: Re-interview Dog Owner Address inconsistencies: Boy at park Restaurants visited Rocky s interactions with Sammy Friends interactions Discuss health risk Personal risk Public s risk of exposure Family s risk of exposure Reestablished timeline Review of bank statements
Infectious Period Timeline - Revised
Day 3: Re-interview Friend 3 Address inconsistencies and concerns: Rocky and Sammy s interactions Vaccination status of Rocky Compliance with observation Discuss order to seize Boy at Zilker Park Provides possible ethnicity Describes adults with child PEP follow-up Ask for help contacting Friend 1
DAY 3: Press Release & Zilker Park Exposures Modified call intake process Assigned one POC Rabies Clerk 11 reports of potential exposure Created spreadsheet to track contacts Human & animal PEP & observation status
DAY 3: Restaurant Exposures Restaurant 2 Brunch - February 8, 2015 22 employees assessed Restaurant 3 Dinner February 9, 2015 20 employees assessed
Searching for the Boy Press Conference Public Plea for photos and videos Local school districts Multi-agency coordination Center for Disease Control National Public Health Information Coalition Texas Department of Health Public Health Emergency Preparedness Austin Regional Intelligence Center (ARIC)
ARIC & Community Engagement ARIC reviewed of all: Tweets Facebook Instagram YouTube Etc. AP reviewed pictures/video emailed by public No potential leads
Search for the Boy Continues The kid was about 7 years old and was with 2 women. I m 99% sure he had a disability so could possible is not how I would describe it. None of the 3 spoke English and spoke an Eastern European language and were with us for under 5 minutes. The younger lady was blonde, the older one which was probably his mother I don t recall. He was just over intrigued with the ball thrower for how simple it is and then when his mom took it and gave it back and walked away he threw a temper tantrum. I know this isn't that unusual for kids but it was just the small mannerisms about everything that indicated it.
Furthering Our Reach Ethnic organizations European decent focused Refugee services Housing Job placement ESL providers City health clinics Immigration office Translation services Foreign consulates Customs office Transportation service providers Cab companies Uber/Lyft Learning disabled/autism services Private and home school organizations
Challenges Lead agency assignment Reluctant victims PEP complications Limited understanding of risk Missing victims Friend 2 Boy at park Multi-agency coordination
Conclusion Central Texas Region exposures Human - 9 Animal 11 Unable to locate boy and/or guardians Assessed over 60 individuals for potential exposure Affected one park and three businesses Policy revision Multi-agency coordination Rabies awareness campaign Free rabies vaccination clinic
Contact Info April Moore Animal Protection Supervisor Austin/Travis County Animal Services april.moore@austintexas.gov O: (512) 978-0501