Law enforcement is alerting the public after a rabid fox attacked a cat in Boothbay Harbor on Sunday, May 26.
The owner of the cat shot and killed the fox after it attacked the cat, according to a press release from the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. The cat is in quarantine at the family’s home on Simmons Drive, which runs between Eastern Avenue and Ocean Point Road.
Lincoln County Animal Control Officer Will Snowman bagged the fox and contacted the Maine Warden Service, which later picked up the fox and took it to the Maine Center for Disease Control & Prevention for testing.
On Wednesday, May 29, the CDC confirmed that the fox had tested positive for rabies.
The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and the Boothbay Harbor Police Department urge anyone who discovers an animal they suspect of being rabid to avoid contact with the animal and immediately call 911.
The following is information about rabies from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife:
What is rabies?
Rabies is a disease that is caused by a virus. It affects the brain and spinal cord and can cause death if left untreated. Rabies in people is very rare in the U.S., but rabies in animals – especially wildlife – is common in most parts of the country, including Maine.
How is rabies spread?
The rabies virus lives in the saliva, brain, and spinal cord (neural tissue) of infected animals. It is spread when a rabid animal bites or scratches a person or animal, or if a rabid animal’s saliva or neural tissue comes in contact with a person or animal’s mouth, nose, or eyes, or enters a cut in the skin. Rabies is not spread by petting or touching dried saliva, blood, urine, or feces of a rabid animal.
What animals can carry rabies?
In Maine, the most commonly infected animals are skunks, raccoons, bats, and foxes. Rabies can infect any animal that has hair, but is very rare among small rodents like squirrels, rats, mice, and chipmunks. Bat exposures are often difficult to detect, especially in the cases of a sleeping person awakening to a bat in the room or an adult witnessing a bat in a room with a previously unattended child, mentally disabled person, or intoxicated person.
What is a rabies exposure?
A rabies exposure happens when the saliva or neural tissue of a rabid animal comes in contact with a person or animal through a bite or scratch, a cut in the skin, or through the eyes, nose, or mouth.
How can I prevent exposure to rabies?
Generally, you can avoid contact with wild animals. Also, make sure your dog or cat is up to date on its rabies vaccination.
