Rabies exposure at S.C. softball

http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200770724031


Four states investigating possible rabies exposure at S.C. softball
tournament.


RALEIGH - Public health officials in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia are investigating an incident in which players at a South Carolina softball tournament may have been exposed to a rabid kitten.
Public health officials are contacting girls who played in the South Atlantic Summer Showdown Tournament on July 14 in Spartanburg County, S.C.. On July 14, a coach at the tournament found the gray kitten in a barrel style dumpster, which was located behind the dugout at the Boiling Springs Recreational Facility. The kitten was placed in a box and taken later that day to games at the North Spartanburg
Recreational Facility.
The coach took the kitten home to Buncombe County on July 14. It sickened and was put down on July 15. The cat tested positive for rabies at the North Carolina
State Public Health Laboratory.
Experts cautioned that only people at those two venues on July 14 had any potential exposure to the kitten. They also stressed that just petting the kitten doesn't mean that a person was exposed to rabies.
Rabies is spread through the bite of an infected animal or through direct contact of animal saliva with open cuts in the skin, mouth or eyes, according to North Carolina State Public Health Veterinarian Dr. Carl Williams.
Public health authorities are working with tournament organizers to identify and contact people who may have had exposure to the animal. Girls and their families will be contacted and asked if they were bitten by the kitten or if the kitten's saliva had contact with open skin cuts or with their eyes or mouths.
Public health authorities would also like to find the person who left the kitten in the dumpster at the Boiling Springs Recreational Facility, because they may also have been exposed to rabies. Anyone who knows anything about the disposal of the kitten in the dumpster should contact South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Controls Region 2 Environmental Health Office at (864) 282-4144



Teams @ SC ASA
Boiling Springs Recreational Facility
and 295 North Spartanburg Complex




Teams there

JULY 13, 14, 15, 2007


GIRLS FAST PITCH TEAMS - 10U

1 CAROLINA CRUSH
SC

2 LONGHORNS SC
3 MAULDIN ALL STARS SC
4 PALMETTO GATORS SC

GIRLS FAST PITCH TEAMS - 12U

1 SALUDA RIVER STINGERS SC
2 PEACHTREE RIDGE LADY LIONS GA
3 CAROLINA XPRESS SC
4 PALMETTO GATORS SC
5 CAROLINA RALLY KATZ (TRAY) NC
6 UPSTATE OUTLAWZ SC
7 MIXED FORCES NC
GIRLS FAST PITCH TEAMS - 14U-A

1 COLLINS HILL SOARING EAGLES GA

2 "92" GEORGIA IMPACT - RED GA

3 ATLANTA VIPERS / BERRY
GA

4 SOUTH CAROLINA "BANDITS" SC
5 DACULA LADY FALCONS GA

6 PALMETTO GATORS SC

7 TENNESSEE RAIDERS
TN

8 PARKER EAGLES
TN

9 "93" WORTH COBRAS (BLACK)
GA

10 CAROLINA SWARM
SC

11 CAROLINA SANDLAPPERS
SC

12 SC XTREME
SC

13 GEORGIA JAGUARS
GA

14 ATLANTA VIPERS (TERRY)
GA

15 MAGIC
NC

16 EAST COBB BULLETS (BLUE)
GA

GIRLS FAST PITCH TEAMS - 16U

1 PALMETTO GATORS SC
2 GEORGIA HEAT (ORANGE) GA

3 SC HURRICANES SC

4 CAROLINA ANGELS SC

5 CAROLINA BULLDOGS SC
6 ELECTRIC CITY LIGHTNING SC
7 NC FLAMES NC
8 LADY BLUES NC
9 GEORGIA XTREME
GA
10 CAROLINA THUNDER
SC
11 "92" EAST COBB BULLETS
GA
12 RICOCHET FASTPITCH
NC
13 AMERICAS MOST WANTED SC
14 CAROLINA BOMBSHELLS
NC

15 PHOENIX FASTPITCH
NC
16 TOP NOTCH
SC
17 UPSTATE OUTLAWS
SC
18


GIRLS FAST PITCH TEAMS - 18U
1
CAROLINA MAVS SC
2 CAROLINA CRUSH SC

3 SOUTHERN THREAT GA
4 SOUTHERN STEELE GA
5 SOUTHERN RAGE GA
6 DIAMOND DODGERS TN
7 CAROLINA CURVE NC
8 S.C. JETS SC
9 CHARLOTTE QUEENS SC
10 PALMETTO WILDFIRE SC
11 SMACKERS FASTPITCH NC
12 DENVER DAZZLE GOLD NC

 

Updated ------- 16U team be treated.

http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=200770724079





ASHEVILLE — Public health officials in four states were investigating Tuesday how many people at a South Carolina softball tournament may have been exposed to a rabid kitten that was found by a Buncombe County team.
Fourteen people in Buncombe County, including team members, parents, siblings and coaches of the Ricochet girls’ softball team, are being treated for rabies after being exposed to the kitten, according to the North Carolina and Buncombe County public health departments.

Marie Watson, the team’s head coach, found the kitten in a trash bin when the team was at the South Atlantic Summer Showdown Tournament on July 14 in Spartanburg, S.C. Watson said she put the kitten in a box and took the kitten to the team’s games that day.
“There were an unbelievable amount of people who came into contact with the kitten because it was so cute,” she said.
Watson brought the cat back to Buncombe County, where it started foaming at the mouth the next day. The cat was euthanized July 15. It tested positive for rabies Monday.
“I feel really bad because I took the cat trying to show the kids a good example, and I ultimately ended up exposing them to something harmful,” Watson said.
Health officials said they are still trying to determine how many other teams and people were exposed to the kitten. There were more than 50 teams at the tournament from North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Georgia, although officials said not all of the teams came into contact with the kitten.
Dr. Martha Salyers, team leader for North Carolina’s public health region six, said there were between six and 12 teams in Western North Carolina that might have had contact with the kitten. She said she has contacted half of the teams in the region, and there are no additional exposures in those teams.
“We are trying to identify anyone who was exposed to this kitten,” said Sue Ellen Morrison, disease control manager at the Buncombe County Health Department.
Morrison said rabies can be spread through a bite or through direct contact of the animal’s saliva, mouth, eyes or open cuts in the skin. People who may have been infected are treated with Rabies Immune Globulin and a series of five vaccinations. Rabies is fatal if it is not treated.
This is the seventh rabies case in Buncombe County this year. Morrison said pet owners should vaccinate their pets against rabies, and people should not rescue stray animals.


The rabid kitten was found at the South Atlantic Summer Showdown Tournament in Spartanburg, S.C., on July 14. It was found in a trash bin behind the dugout at the Boiling Springs Recreational Facility and taken to games at the North Spartanburg Recreational Facility. Health officials said there might have been other kittens at the tournament that also may have been rabid. If you think you may have been exposed, call your local health department.
The Buncombe County Health Department can be reached at 250-5000.
Anyone who has any information about the kitten should contact the South Carolina Department of Public Health and Environmental Controls at 864-282-4144.