Suffolk County officers say they’ve one other rabid raccoon case, almost two months after reporting their first such case in additional than 15 years.
Well being officers say a lifeless raccoon present in Amityville on March 4, 2025, examined optimistic for rabies. The affirmation was acquired from the Wadsworth Middle on the New York State Division of Well being three days later. There was no identified human or animal contact with the raccoon. It was the second case this 12 months.
The primary case was discovered on January 28, 2025, in North Amityville. Earlier than this 12 months, Suffolk County had not reported a rabid raccoon since 2009.
Rabies is a viral illness transmitted from contaminated mammals to people. Left untreated, it may possibly result in demise. Early signs embody irritability, headache, fever, and generally itching on the web site of publicity. Inside days, the illness progresses to paralysis, spasms of the throat muscle mass, convulsions, delirium, and demise.
Individuals can get rabies if they’re uncovered to the saliva or nervous tissue of a rabid animal via a chunk. It’s also attainable, though uncommon, that folks can get rabies if infectious materials, corresponding to saliva, from a rabid animal, will get instantly into their eyes, nostril, mouth, or a wound.
Dr. Gregson Pigott, Commissioner of the Suffolk County Division of Well being Providers, stated, “We are very concerned that rabies is spreading along our western border, and we ask for the public’s help: First, ensure that your pets are vaccinated for rabies. Next, take appropriate precautions when you are out and among wild animals. Finally, if you live in the towns of Babylon, Huntington, Islip or Smithtown and encounter a dead raccoon, contact us at the Suffolk County Department of Health Services.”
The affirmation comes two months after authorities in neighboring Nassau County issued a rabies warning, primarily based on a spike in circumstances they’d seen since July. In that January alert, Nassau County Well being Commissioner Dr. Irina Gelman stated eight rabid raccoons and feral cats had been discovered inside the newest six-month interval in communities stretching from Cedarhurst to Massapequa Park.
That comes after no animal had examined optimistic for rabies within the county since 2016.
In a single current case, a Massapequa Park resident was bitten by an contaminated animal.
Dr. Gelman stated greater than 500 individuals in 2024 have been bitten, scratched or got here in shut contact with a presumably rabid animal. Luckily, there have been no human rabies circumstances.
Frank Floridia, an animal rescuer on Lengthy Island, known as on residents to regulate their pets and instantly report any wild creatures that don’t look effectively.
“Everybody has to take extreme precautions. Everybody has to be worried about the situation. It’s life-threatening,” stated Floridia. “It’s pretty scary that rabies is back on Long Island.”
He stated residents ought to regulate their pets and instantly report any wild animals that look sick or unwell.
So what has sparked the sudden rise in rabies circumstances? Nassau County stated it’s partially because of NYC’s failure in 2024 to bait for rabid animals alongside the Queens-Nassau border. Metropolis officers didn’t instantly reply to that declare, however the county well being commissioner stated they’re speaking with metropolis well being officers to assault the issue.
