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A surge of rabies cases east of Denver has authorities recommending preventative measures in the metro area, including vaccinating horses and pets.

As of the last state rabies report April 27, 34 animals had tested positive for rabies in Colorado this year, including 30 skunks.

In all of 2009, the state reported 37 rabid skunks.

Officials with the Colorado Department of Agriculture and the state Veterinary Medical Association are slated to discuss the issue during a news conference this morning.

More than a dozen Coloradans so far this year have undergone “painful and expensive” shots after being exposed to rabid animals, officials said.

Vaccinations for pets and livestock to curb the spread are recommended, according to a bulletin from the Greenwood Village-based Tri-County Health Department.

As of a month ago, there also had been one domestic cat from Prowers County, a muskrat in Morgan County, a fox in El Paso County and a horse in Arapahoe County with rabies.

The state had 103 rabies cases in 20 Colorado counties last year, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

Rabies, spread by the saliva of infected animals, is a viral infection that attacks the brain and central nervous system. The illness is fatal to animals and can be fatal to humans if untreated, health officials state.

The appearance of rabies in the skunk population east of Denver is a new phenomenon, said Dr. Richard Vogt, executive director of the Tri-County Health Department, which covers Adams, Arapahoe and Douglas counties.

“That means we have to change how we think about wild animals,” Vogt said. “Feeding them is not a wise idea. Getting close to wild animals is not a wise idea, either.”

Vogt said authorities expect the rabies problem will migrate into the Denver area over the summer. Once rabies takes hold in wildlife, the disease becomes extremely difficult to eradicate, he said.

Cases that Vogt handled in wild raccoons as an epidemiologist in Vermont 20 years ago still affect that state to this day, he said.

In Colorado, the upsurge in rabies is prompting the Westernaires show arena in Golden, which has 185 horses, to take precautions.

Some of the Westernaires’ horses will get the rabies vaccines this week, said Glen Keller, director of the Westernaires.

Keller said he also plans to keep a close eye on the situation, with the expectation that more vaccines will be administered in the summer.

He said he also is urging those who bring horses to ride at the arena to take precautions and to vaccinate their horses.

“It’s been increasing, and we want to be careful,” Keller said of the disease.

Christopher N. Osher: 303-954-1747 or cosher@denverpost.com