Public Health Region 1 Zoonosis Control

Purpose

The Zoonosis Control Program promotes public health through the prevention and control of diseases that are transmissible between animals and man.  

Department of State Health Services, PHR 1 
Zoonosis Control
6302 Iola Ave 
Lubbock, TX 79424 
Phone: 806-783-6422 
Fax: 806-783-6466

Department of State Health Services, PHR 1
Zoonosis Control
3407 Pony Express Way
Amarillo, TX 79118
Phone: 806-477-1104
Fax: 806-373-4758

For Zoonosis Control-related questions, please contact Regional Veterinarian Cherissa Abdul Hamid or Karen McDonald at the Lubbock office or Tonya Finch at the Amarillo office.

 

Services Provided: 

The Zoonosis Control Program works in liaison with local, federal, and other state agencies concerned with the control of zoonotic diseases. Besides rabies, the zoonoses of importance in Public Health Region 1 include West Nile virus (WNV), Q fever, hantavirus, plague, and tick-borne diseases such as Lyme, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and ehrlichiosis. 

Our duties include the following:

  • Consulting with and advising physicians, local government officials, other state agencies, and the public on all aspects of zoonotic disease and animal control issues         
     
  • Investigating all reported occurrences of notifiable zoonotic diseases in humans and animals          
     
  • Assessing the potential for human or animal exposure to rabies, and making recommendations to healthcare professionals, veterinarians, and patients for preventive treatment, testing, or observation        
     
  • Maintaining a supply of human anti-rabies biologics (vaccine and immune globulin) for post-exposure prophylaxis of suspected rabies exposures  
     
  • Performing field surveillance work, including the collection of arthropods (fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, etc.) and vertebrates         
     
  • Providing basic training and continuing education classes for animal control officers, as mandated by state law         
     
  • Presenting educational programs to medical and veterinary personnel, media, government officials, other public health entities, and the public on the subject of zoonotic diseases           
     
  • Inspecting rabies quarantine facilities (approved animal shelters and contracted veterinary clinics) on an annual basis to assess compliance with state regulations           
     
  • Participating in special projects, such as Oral Rabies Vaccination Program and other disease outbreak investigations in cooperation with other DSHS programs and local health departments

Zoonosis Control-related links:

External links to other sites are intended to be informational and do not have the endorsement of the Department of State Health Services. These links may also not be accessible to persons with disabilities.

Please contact us If you have comments or suggestions.

Regional and Local Health Operations

Regional and Local Health Operations

Public Health Region 1 Programs and Services