KTVF: Senator Lisa Murkowski introduces bill to combat rabies in rural areas, including much of Alaska
On Tuesday, Senator Lisa Murkowski introduced a bill aimed at giving Tribes in Alaska and around the country tools to fight rabies and other zoonotic diseases.
Rural communities in the state of Alaska are vulnerable to high rates of rabies transmission due to having comparatively large numbers of dog bite injuries and the highest rate of hospitalizations from these bites in the U.S.
That’s according to a press release from Murkowski’s office announcing the introduction of the bill to combat diseases that spread between animals and humans in rural areas around the country.
The bill, called the “Veterinary Services to Improve Public Health in Rural Communities Act”, aims to direct the Indian Health Service (IHS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to partner with Tribes in the effort.
Among other things, the bill would fund IHS to perform public health actions, including spaying and neutering dogs, as part of self-governance compacts between the Tribes and the service.
It would also require IHS to work with the CDC and the U.S. Department of Agriculture in this mission.
According to a study listed on the National Institutes of Health website, rabies in Alaska is present in bats and is considered endemic in Red and Arctic Foxes.
By: Alex Benge
Source: KTVF
