N.C. health officials warn visitors after mobile petting zoo goats test positive for rabies
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services urged people who touched baby goats from a mobile petting zoo to contact their local health department after several animals tested positive for rabies, the agency said.
State officials said the goats were from Farm Adventures, a mobile petting zoo based in Harmony, North Carolina, that attended off-site events across multiple counties. Anyone who had contact with baby goats from Farm Adventures at its Harmony location or at off-site events between July 28 and Aug. 27 should contact their local health department, the agency said. The North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health confirmed the positive tests, NCDHHS said.
Farm Adventures said four baby goats — identified as Molly, Maggie, Cow and Uno — contracted rabies and were euthanized. The company said the goats were kept in a separate pen, were too young to receive vaccinations and that a skunk entered their pen. Farm Adventures said staff were not aware the goats had been bitten and that one animal was sent for a necropsy. Organizers of events involving the petting zoo are being notified, and investigators said they will release additional information about potential exposure locations when available.
The state advised that people who may have been exposed contact their local health department to determine whether post-exposure medication is needed, NCDHHS said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says rabies is fatal if a person does not receive medical care before symptoms begin and that the virus is usually spread through bites or scratches. The CDC said bats, skunks, raccoons and foxes are most frequently found with rabies in the U.S., and that roughly 100,000 Americans receive rabies vaccinations after potential exposure each year.
NCDHHS said human rabies infections are extremely rare in the United States and that no human cases have been reported in North Carolina since 2011. The agency said the investigation into the goat infections is ongoing.
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