Animal Related Diseases
By law, certain diseases must be reported to public health agencies from health care providers and laboratories in order to keep the illness from spreading.
Reporting Animal Bites
Animal bites are a reportable condition and must be immediately reported to public health.
Reporting a Dead Animal
It is not uncommon to find dead animals or birds. Animals and birds die every day from natural causes, predators, or disease. It is important to report such findings so that they can be documented and a decision made to determine if a test is necessary to determine if the cause of death is associated with a zoonotic disease.
Animal Carcass Disposal
Your city may have options for disposal as does Arapahoe County if you live in an unincorporated area.
Reporting Suspected Rabid Animals and Animal Bites
Contact with infected wild or domestic animals places you and your family at risk for rabies infection. Immediate medical treatment is required if a person or domestic animal is exposed to rabies.
If you or a family member has been in contact with an animal that could have rabies, seek immediate medical attention immediately and contact Arapahoe County Public Health.
If your dog, cat, horse or livestock animal has been in contact with an animal that could have rabies, seek veterinary attention and contact Arapahoe County Public Health.
Refer to Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment for an updated map of rabies positive animals.
If you are having other problems with wildlife, then call the Colorado Parks and Wildlife, 303-297-1192.
If you are having other problems with stray dogs or cats, then call your local animal control agency. They are on-call 24 hours a day.
Find your animal control agency
Health Care Providers
Before beginning Rabies Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP), please contact the Communicable Disease team at 303-795-HLTH (4584).
