Possible Outbreak of Rabies Threatens City of Cambridge

A rabies outbreak which has affected more than 35 animals statewide has reached communities as close as nearby Belmont and could pose a threat to Cambridge residents and their pets, according to city officials.

"It is a threat to Cambridge and will be in Cambridge without a doubt," said Animal Control Officer Michael McCabe.

McCabe said his office plans mainly preventative measures to deal with the epidemic, including stepped-up efforts to vaccinate pets, especially cats.

Educational outreach to city residents about the disease is also planned, he said.

City Councillor Alice K. Wolf said the council will definitely look into the issue. She has heard about an infected raccoon at the Cambridge golf course, she said, but emphasizes that the story is strictly "hearsay."

An ordinance which would require dogs at Fresh Pond to be leashed will be voted on later this month, she said. Fresh Pond is the only remaining public space in the city where dogs are allowed to roam unleashed.

If a person sees a dangerous-looking animal, the proper course is to call the police, he said.

The form of rabies which has appeared in Massachusetts is the "furious" form, he said, in which an infected animal will attack anything it sees.

The principal carrier for the disease so far has been raccoons, and their presence makes Cambridge a likely place for a rabies outbreak, McCabe said.

"The raccoon population is large," he said. "In any city or town the danger is ten times greater than out in the woods somewhere."

But he has no plans to round up or eliminate the animals.

"The city is not going to go out and trap healthy raccoons or anything like that," he said.

The disease has also appeared in a cat and a skunk. McCabe said that bats are also good carriers, but the squirrels that swarm in Harvard Yard are fairly safe.

"Squirrels are considered a low-risk animal," he said.

Cambridge currently has three animal control officers. Control officers are charged with insuring household pets are vaccinated and picking up stray animals, including ones which may be infected with the disease.

Neighboring Boston, a city with six times the population of Cambridge, has only one animal control officer. Critics have said that city is ill-prepared to handle the rabies epidemic. Seattle and El Paso, Texas, which both about the same size as Boston, have more than 20 control officers.

McCabe said Cambridge's three officers should be able to handle the threat.