South Florida community on alert after raccoon with rabies bites someone, officials say

A raccoon tested positive for rabies after it bit someone one in a west Boca Raton neighborhood, the Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach announced Friday.

The department did not release any information about the bite other than it happened Thursday in the 10000 Block of Marina Way.

The raccoon was taken by Animal Care and Control and sent for rabies testing.

“Residents in the area are cautioned to avoid contact with any wildlife including feral/community cats and report suspicious animals to Animal Care and Control,” the department said in a news release.

Rabies — which is a disease of the nervous system that can be fatal to warm blooded animals and humans — can only be treated by a rabies-specific immune globulin and rabies immunization.

This case is the first to be reported in Palm Beach this year, according to the Florida Department of Health’s Rabies Surveillace Data. There were two animals in Broward — a fox and a raccoon — that tested postive this year. There were no animals with rabies in Miami-Dade this year, data shows.

Here’s some advice from the health department:

▪ All pets should have their rabies vaccinations up to date.

▪ Keep your pets away from wildlife.

▪ If you see a stray animal, call your local animal control.

▪ Pets should be spayed or neutered to help with animal control.

▪ Keep garbage cans closed and other discarded itemes coovered.

For more information on rabies, visit http://www.floridahealth.gov/diseases-and-conditions/rabies/index.html. For more information on the Palm Beach case call the Florida Department of Health in Palm Beach County at 561-840-4500 and ask to be transferred to the Epidemiology Section.

A raccoon in Fort Lauderdale tested positive for rabies and pet owners are under alert