LIVERMORE — The town has had its first confirmed case of rabies this year, a gray fox that had contact with a dog last week.
The incident occurred Aug. 19 on River Road, according to a representative of the Maine Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory.
As of Aug. 22, the state had 48 confirmed rabies cases.
Androscoggin County has had 12 confirmed cases this year, the most among the state’s 16 counties, according to data on the laboratory’s website — https://tinyurl.com/yyne6mbo. Of those, 10 involved raccoons.
Two cases have been confirmed in Auburn, both involving raccoons, with the most recent n Aug. 22. Greene had three cases confirmed this past spring, all involving raccoons.
Other confirmed rabies cases involving raccoons: One in Lisbon on Aug. 5; two in Poland, the most recent July 18; and two in Turner on Feb. 5.
Minot had one case of confirmed rabies Aug. 7, involving a ferret.
In Franklin County, Jay had its first case confirmed last week: A dog that came in contact with a rabid skunk Aug. 20 on Pineau Street.
Oxford County had three cases: Two in Canton involving a bat and a raccoon, both in July.
Oxford had one confirmed case involving a raccoon July 18.
Bath in Sagadahoc County has had seven confirmed cases, the most in one town in the state. The cases have involved a bat, gray fox, red fox, two raccoons and two skunks. The most recent was Aug. 13.
Overall, Sagadahoc County has had 11 cases, including one in Bowdoin involving a skunk, and three in Bowdoinham involving a skunk and two gray foxes.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says rabies is a viral disease most often transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal. The rabies virus infects the central nervous system of mammals, ultimately causing disease in the brain and death.
The vast majority of rabies cases reported to the CDC each year occur in wild animals, such as bats, raccoons, skunks and foxes, although any mammal, including humans, can get rabies.
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