Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Rabies Confirmed in Baby Goats From North Carolina Mobile Petting Zoo

Officials tracing multiple event sites urge anyone who handled the goats to contact local health departments for a rabies risk assessment.

Overview

  • State lab tests confirmed rabies in three baby goats from Farm Adventures on Aug. 28 and a fourth is presumed infected after a necropsy and follow-up testing.
  • Officials say the goats were likely exposed in late July when a skunk entered an enclosed pen and bit animals that were too young to be vaccinated.
  • The four infected baby goats were euthanized, the Farm Adventures operation has been quarantined, and the owner is cooperating with state and local agencies.
  • Health departments have opened call lines and are notifying event organizers to find people who had direct contact with the goats at the Harmony site or at off-site events from July 28 through Aug. 27.
  • No human rabies cases have been reported so far and public-health officials stress that prompt post-exposure treatment prevents infection, but people who touched the goats should get a risk assessment immediately.