
Brian Berube
71:19 - 72:06
"Furthermore, in Alaska, rabies remains an ongoing and ever-present public health issue. Rabies is enzoonotic— excuse me— in our fox populations in northern and western Alaska, meaning it is always present, and it poses a persistent and continual risk of transmission from wildlife to domestic animals and to people."
“Furthermore, in Alaska, rabies remains an ongoing and ever-present public health issue. Rabies is enzoonotic— excuse me— in our fox populations in northern and western Alaska, meaning it is always present, and it poses a persistent and continual risk of transmission from wildlife to domestic animals and to people.”
In the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, the reported dog bite rates among children are 7 to 9 times the per capita average. The rate of fatal dog maulings in Alaska has been found to be almost 16 times the national average. These disparities reflect systemic gaps in access to preventative services. Furthermore, in Alaska, rabies remains an ongoing and ever-present public health issue. Rabies is enzoonotic— excuse me— in our fox populations in northern and western Alaska, meaning it is always present, and it poses a persistent and continual risk of transmission from wildlife to domestic animals and to people.
A House subcommittee took testimony June 9 on legislation that would transfer a dormant 2000 tribal regulatory reform mandate from Commerce to Interior, 25 years after the authority was supposed to convene.

A House subcommittee heard testimony Tuesday on legislation authorizing Indian Health Service to fund veterinary care in rural Alaska communities facing endemic rabies and high dog-bite rates, addressing a public health gap that has left villages without basic animal disease prevention.
