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iamnotaparakeet
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23 Apr 2010, 1:21 pm

According to this link, http://www.idph.state.il.us/public/hb/hbrabies.htm , "Birds, fish, insects, lizards, snakes and turtles never get rabies. " So, what do these orders of creatures have in common or what do they lack in common with "... bats, skunks, raccoons, ... foxes, ... deer, ... large rodents, such as woodchucks, [c]ats, dogs and livestock, ... chipmunks, gerbils, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, rabbits, rats and squirrels...." Is it only warm-blooded mammals that can develop rabies or have there ever been any instances where birds or other creatures have gotten it also? Birds also are endothermic, so is it the particular body temperature of these types of creatures or is it another factor? What is in common between the creatures which can develop rabies and what is not in common with those in which rabies cannot develop?



drybones
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24 Apr 2010, 5:19 am

I think your right, it only infects warm blooded mammals



Fuzzy
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24 Apr 2010, 7:06 am

I read it was speculated that a seal could have rabies and thus expose sharks, though how it would affect cold blooded animals is up to debate. Polar bears can get it too, theoretically, but its probably pretty rare.

It may be that those animals bodies just dont provide the right environment for it to express and carry out its life cycle.

In the matter of birds, it could screw up their metabolisms rapidly enough that they die before exhibiting signs. Since they tend to burn a lot of energy, the addition of the rabies virus might simply starve them to death in short order.


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iamnotaparakeet
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24 Apr 2010, 10:46 am

Fuzzy wrote:
I read it was speculated that a seal could have rabies and thus expose sharks, though how it would affect cold blooded animals is up to debate. Polar bears can get it too, theoretically, but its probably pretty rare.

It may be that those animals bodies just dont provide the right environment for it to express and carry out its life cycle.

In the matter of birds, it could screw up their metabolisms rapidly enough that they die before exhibiting signs. Since they tend to burn a lot of energy, the addition of the rabies virus might simply starve them to death in short order.


I'm kinda hoping that the 104°F to 111°F temperature range is beyond the chemical operating range of the lyssa virus, because it would really stink if it were just that birds die quicker from it with minimum or no possibility of vaccination.



Fuzzy
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24 Apr 2010, 2:46 pm

iamnotaparakeet wrote:
Fuzzy wrote:
I read it was speculated that a seal could have rabies and thus expose sharks, though how it would affect cold blooded animals is up to debate. Polar bears can get it too, theoretically, but its probably pretty rare.

It may be that those animals bodies just dont provide the right environment for it to express and carry out its life cycle.

In the matter of birds, it could screw up their metabolisms rapidly enough that they die before exhibiting signs. Since they tend to burn a lot of energy, the addition of the rabies virus might simply starve them to death in short order.


I'm kinda hoping that the 104°F to 111°F temperature range is beyond the chemical operating range of the lyssa virus, because it would really stink if it were just that birds die quicker from it with minimum or no possibility of vaccination.


That is entirely possible. Also they might just be immune by virtue of incompatible cellular metabolism.


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iamnotaparakeet
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24 Apr 2010, 3:04 pm

Fuzzy wrote:
iamnotaparakeet wrote:
Fuzzy wrote:
I read it was speculated that a seal could have rabies and thus expose sharks, though how it would affect cold blooded animals is up to debate. Polar bears can get it too, theoretically, but its probably pretty rare.

It may be that those animals bodies just dont provide the right environment for it to express and carry out its life cycle.

In the matter of birds, it could screw up their metabolisms rapidly enough that they die before exhibiting signs. Since they tend to burn a lot of energy, the addition of the rabies virus might simply starve them to death in short order.


I'm kinda hoping that the 104°F to 111°F temperature range is beyond the chemical operating range of the lyssa virus, because it would really stink if it were just that birds die quicker from it with minimum or no possibility of vaccination.


That is entirely possible. Also they might just be immune by virtue of incompatible cellular metabolism.


I hope it would be something toward the disease being inherently incompatible...

I'm kinda worried for my birds as currently my fiancee's apartment is having a rodent problem and her guinea pig died from respiratory failure after about a week of lethargy and refusal to drink water or eat without help. He never got violent, but he could have just had self control as he was always a good natured little guy. When Jackie and I are married, my birds and I are going to be living there and I'm a little concerned for the 4 cockatiels and parakeet of mine. I'm helping to deter the mice from pestering her apartment in particular by assisting with keeping her particular apartment clean, but they traverse throughout the whole darn building meaning that we also have to deal with the effects of the sanitation levels of other peoples apartments...