Animal proves to be rabid

By DAN KEGLEY/Staff

A second rabid raccoon was reported last week by a health department official.
Scott Honaker of the Mount Rogers Health District said a raccoon “collected at 125 East Chilhowie Street in Marion” April 5 tested positive for rabies.
No human contact was involved, Honaker said, and officials are “working with the owner of a dog that was in contact” with the infected animal.
In January, a raccoon tested positive for rabies in the Horseshoe Bend Road area of Chilhowie. A dog was put down after its encounter with the raccoon, prompting a relative of the owner, who received rabies shots, to ask the county to require public notifications of rabies cases.
Lavonda Carson of the Smyth County Health Department said the best action is for citizens to recognize rabies is endemic and encounters with rabid animals are possible everywhere and to continually observe appropriate precautions, not just when notices are issued.
Honaker urged people to “take the necessary precautions of protecting themselves against rabies” by vaccinating their pets, keeping away from and reporting stray animals, and calling wildlife and health department officials about any sick animals observed. A release from the health district further advises people to “eliminate outdoor food sources around the home, [and] keep pets confined to your property or walk them on a leash.”