Four baby goats that traveled to petting-zoo events in North Carolina this summer tested positive for rabies, prompting state officials on Friday to urge anyone who came in contact with them to alert their local health department.
“Rabies is almost always fatal in mammals, including people, unless medications to prevent infections are given before symptoms develop,” the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement.
The goats belonged to Farm Adventures, a mobile petting zoo in Harmony, N.C., the department said.
The department said that anyone who visited the zoo in Harmony, or any of its other sites between July 28 and Aug. 27 should contact local health officials to see if treatment is needed.
“The petting zoo held off-site events involving children and elderly individuals across multiple counties within that time frame,” state officials said.
It was unclear how many people were potentially exposed to the goats. State health officials did not disclose the locations where Farm Adventures exhibited the goats.
Farm Adventures declined to comment on Saturday.
In a statement posted on social media on Friday, the company confirmed the positive rabies tests and said the four baby goats that tested positive were “euthanized to prevent further spread.”
“We will be closely monitoring our remaining animals under the guidelines provided by health officials,” the company said. “The baby goats were kept in a separate pen, away from the others, and were too young to receive their vaccinations. We unfortunately encountered a skunk in their pen, which we promptly removed and disposed of. However, during this process, the skunk was able to bite the goats.”
More than 90 percent of rabies exposures come from wild animals, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Skunks account for 17 percent of those infections. Bats lead the list at 35 percent, followed by raccoons at 29 percent, the agency said.
Cases of humans being infected by rabies are rare in the United States.
Fewer than 10 people a year die from the disease in the United States, according to the C.D.C. Each year, 1.4 million Americans receive health care for a possible rabies exposure, the center said.
North Carolina has not had a positive human case since 2011, according to state officials.
Symptoms typically develop within weeks to months after exposure. An early symptom is a flulike illness that includes fever and headaches. The disease is often passed through bites and scratches.
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