Rabies Outbreak Claims Life of Horse Heaven Rancher
A tragic, overlooked bite from a family dog results in a fatal case of hydrophobia for a local rancher.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
At last hydrophobia, which has been prevalent among the coyotes and dogs of this county for several months, has cost human life. Frank Callahan, a Horse Heaven rancher, died a terrible death from rabies in Prosser last Friday afternoon. Mr. Callahan was bitten on the hand by the family dog last January. The dog was not mad at the time nor did it show any symptoms of rabies before it was killed some time later. The wound healed and he was in perfect health until last Thursday when he was taken suddenly ill. It was not until the last hour of his illness that the physicians knew he was suffering from rabies.
“So violent did the man become in his last ravings that physicians and friends who attended him were forced to remove him from the hospital to a cell in the county jail where he died.”
This account captures the terrifying reality of zoonotic diseases before the widespread availability of modern post-exposure prophylaxis. The 'Horse Heaven' region remains a significant agricultural and rural area in Benton County.
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