TO REPORT AN ANIMAL BITE

It is the responsibility of a person bitten by an animal, or the parent or guardian of a minor bitten by an animal, to report the bite to the Department of Community Health and the Environment, or the St. Charles, St. Peters, O'Fallon or Wentzville Animal Control Programs immediately. The information that will be needed includes the name and address of the owner of the animal, the date, time and location of the bite incident, the location on the body where the person was bitten and a general description of the biting animal.

The report should be made to the St. Charles County Division of Humane Services at 636-949-PETS (7387) during normal business hours. After normal business hours or on weekends, and holidays, you should call the St. Charles County Sheriff's Department at 636-949-0809 or 1-800-822-8017 and they will put you in contact with the on-call Animal Control Officer.

Although the possibility is remote, the biting animal may be infected with the rabies virus. Domestic animals involved in bite incidents must be observed for 10 days to insure that they do not have rabies infection. Wild animals, for example bats, raccoons, and skunks, may also be infected with the rabies virus. If the domestic animal can't be observed for 10 days, or if the bite was from a wild animal not available for laboratory analysis, a vaccine for humans is available to safeguard the bitten person from developing rabies infection. If the shots are not given, and the biting animal was suffering from rabies, there is a high probability that the person bitten will contract rabies. Rabies infections that develop in humans are 100% fatal. Therefore, it is urgent that bites be promptly reported so that medical guidance can be immediately given.

DON'T PANIC! If you report the bite promptly there is plenty of time for treatment.