North Carolina alerts petting-zoo visitors after baby goats test positive for rabies
State health officials warn anyone who handled baby goats from the mobile Farm Adventures petting zoo between July 28 and Aug 27 to contact their local health department after four goats were found to have rabies.
Health authorities in North Carolina have told the public to reach out to local health departments if they had contact with baby goats from Farm Adventures, a mobile petting zoo operating out of Harmony, between July 28 and Aug 27. Four of the goats, named Molly, Maggie, Cow and Uno, were confirmed rabies-positive by the state laboratory and were subsequently euthanized. Farm Adventures explained that a skunk entered the goats' separate pen, bit the animals, and was removed before the bites were recognized.
The petting zoo cooperates with the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Agriculture and animal control as the investigation proceeds. Organizers of events that hosted children and seniors across several counties are being informed, and additional exposure locations will be disclosed when known. Rabies is a fatal disease without prompt post-exposure treatment, though human cases in North Carolina have not occurred since 2011.
Why it matters
Potential rabies exposure requires prompt medical action to prevent a deadly disease.
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