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Public health officials in North Carolina are urging anyone who may have had contact with baby goats from the mobile petting zoo Farm Adventures, based out of Harmony, NC, any time between July 28th and August 27th, to contact their local public health department.<\/strong><\/p>\n Officials confirmed that at least four young goats from the establishment\u2019s pen tested positive for rabies due to exposure to an undiscovered wild skunk.<\/p>\n Public Health Alert regarding Rabies Exposure Dates and Locations:<\/strong><\/p>\n The NC Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) has released a warning about the potential risk of rabies after four babies from a petting zoo facility were found to be positive.<\/p>\n Farm Adventures, based in Harmony, North Carolina is a mobile petting zoo operation. Local health officials are advising anyone, \u201cincluding children, their parents, and event organizers\u201d who pet the babies or may have had skin-on-skin contact with them, at their Harmony location, or any off-site mobile event location, between July 28th and August 27th, to consult with a local health official immediately to \u201cdetermine if they need post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) treatment\u201d.<\/p>\n Farm Adventures confirmed in a press release on their page that it was determined that 4 young goats had contracted the infection from an undiscovered stray wild skunk that ventured into the pen containing Molly, Maggie, Cow, and Uno.<\/p>\n What should be done if your child has been in contact with rabid baby goats?<\/strong><\/p>\n Rabies is a serious, fatal neurological infection transmitted by mammals if not treated immediately. Once an infected animal exhibits symptoms, the disease is almost always lethal in humans; but, it is, according to the CDC and the public health departments of the US and North Carolina, almost 100% preventable by post-exposure rabies shots if the victim is treated before exhibiting the early signs and symptoms of the illness.<\/p>\n Steps for you\/your child should have taken\/do take:<\/p>\n NC & the human risk of rabies: Rabies has caused only two human deaths in the U.S. Since 2000, the most recent one being in 2011 in NC.<\/p>\n A person does not necessarily need to be bitten for exposure to occur, but if contact with the goat or any animal that might have the disease occurs between the dates shown, the safest approach in this case has been to seek medical care for early warning assessment and potentially a PEP shot.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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