Home · Health · Aug 31 archive
Baby Goats From a Traveling Petting Zoo Test Positive for Rabies
Confirmed
Four baby goats at a North Carolina mobile petting zoo tested positive for rabies and have been euthanized, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Health and Human Services. On Saturday, the North Carolina Department of Public Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) said it was first notified of a potential rabies exposure among four baby goats at Farm Adventures in Harmony, N.C., on Thursday.
The NC State Laboratory of Public Health confirmed rabies virus in three of the baby goats on August 28; a fourth goat was not tested but is also assumed to have been infected,” the NCDHHS said in a press release. The owner of the petting zoo said she’s “devastated” following the positive rabies tests.
“On Sunday, May 3rd, it was reported that a beaver at Lake Henry had contact with several people and has since tested positive for rabies,” the Mahwah Health North Carolina Department said in a statement confirming the attack.
A post on the company’s Facebook page said its goats, which were too young to be vaccinated against rabies, appeared to have been infected by a skunk that got into their pen. She also noted that the goats were “not showing the traditional signs of rabies.
The state health department said in a statement that it’s “working with local health departments and healthcare systems to make sure rabies post-exposure prophylaxis is available to anyone who needs it. Rabies outbreaks appear to be rising across the U.S. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1.4 million Americans are monitored every year for possible exposure to the virus.
They were at a North Carolina-based mobile petting zoo called Farm Adventures and had been featured at events across the state from July 28 through Aug. 23, the state said. In Canada, the animals that most often transmit rabies are bats, skunks and foxes, according to the government of Canada.
The health department said Monday that it didn’t have an estimate of the number of people exposed to the infected goats. The first symptoms of rabies may be similar to those of the flu and last for days, according to the organization.
The health department said the public is advised to “avoid wildlife, as any warm-blooded animal can carry rabies.
What's confirmed
- Four baby goats at a North Carolina mobile petting zoo tested positive for rabies and have been euthanized, according to the North Carolina Department of Public Health and Human Services.
What's still developing
- On Saturday, the North Carolina Department of Public Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) said it was first notified of a potential rabies exposure among four baby goats at Farm Adventures in Harmony, N.C., on Thursday.
- The NC State Laboratory of Public Health confirmed rabies virus in three of the baby goats on August 28; a fourth goat was not tested but is also assumed to have been infected,” the NCDHHS said in a press release .
- The owner of the petting zoo said she’s “devastated” following the positive rabies tests.
- She also noted that the goats were “not showing the traditional signs of rabies.
- The first symptoms of rabies may be similar to those of the flu and last for days, according to the organization.
- In Canada, the animals that most often transmit rabies are bats, skunks and foxes, according to the government of Canada .
- “On Sunday, May 3rd, it was reported that a beaver at Lake Henry had contact with several people and has since tested positive for rabies,” the Mahwah Health North Carolina Department said in a statement confirming…
- The health department said the public is advised to “avoid wildlife, as any warm-blooded animal can carry rabies.