 Preventative measures, including vaccination of pets like dogs, cats, ferrets, etc., and reporting unusual animal behavior to local authorities is advised. Researchers at Virginia Tech are working to establish a system that can rate the safety of hardhats. The university's helmet lab broke ground 13 years ago by releasing the first independent safety rating for varsity football helmets. Now, the lab is undertaking an 18-month study to develop safety ratings for construction helmets.