Los Angeles County health officials are reminding residents and their pets to be safe around wild animals, after finding what may be the first rabid raccoon case in more than 50 years.
A sick raccoon was discovered in a Westlake Village backyard but was not aggressive toward people, which is commonly associated with rabies-infected animals, the Los Angeles County Public Health Department announced Monday.
A few people at a worksite near the animal and a dog — that was up to date on its rabies vaccine — were potentially exposed to the disease.
“The detection of rabies in a raccoon is an important reminder to never touch, handle, or feed any wild animals, even when they appear healthy,” said Dr. Muntu Davis, health officer for Los Angeles County. “Always keep a safe distance from wildlife and contact your local animal control if you encounter an animal that appears sick, injured, or is behaving unusually.”
Four people at the worksite are receiving rabies post-exposure prophylaxis — which can include a dose of human rabies immune globulin and a rabies vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The canine is under quarantine, and officials say it’s doing well.
Rabies is a rare but serious disease that can infect the brains of both people and animals, according to the California Department of Public Health.
An infected animal can pass rabies to another animal or to a person through its bite, but that’s not the only way it can be transmitted.
Exposure can occur any time saliva or tissue from the infected animal enters the body, such as through a bite or a scratch, or contact with a wound or the mouth, nose or eyes.
In California, bats and skunks are the animals that most often get rabies, according to the state health department.
The last known rabid raccoon in Los Angeles County was detected in 1973, when a skunk variant of rabies was still present in the area. This particular strain has not been detected in the county since 1979.
Officials say the last animal confirmed to have rabies that wasn’t a bat was a skunk infected with the bat strain of rabies in Long Beach in 2014.
Public health officials are investigating which rabies strain the raccoon was infected with.
“Based on current knowledge of rabies occurrence in Los Angeles County, it is likely this raccoon was infected with rabies from a bat,” public health officials stated in a news release. “However, Public Health is awaiting subsequent variant testing, which can take several weeks.”
Rabies exposure in L.A. County is more commonly linked to rabies-infected bats. Rabid bat detections can vary year-to-year, but Los Angeles County has seen a steady upward trend for more than a decade.
So far this year, there have been a record-breaking 70 rabid bats confirmed in Los Angeles County.
Experts who study bats say that, although residents should practice caution, the odds of getting rabies from the flying creatures remain very low.
Rabies infects very few humans in the United States and California, according to the state public health department. Fewer than 10 human deaths are reported each year in the nation. Since 1980, rabies has been reported in 17 people in California, most recently in 2024. A Contra Costa resident who became infected with rabies died in 2012.
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