Maine’s Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory alerted the city of Auburn last week that a gray fox found in the city tested positive for rabies.

Here’s what you need to know.

COMMON DISEASE: Though rabies in people is rare in the United States, it is more common among wild animals in Maine, according to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

In addition to the one fox testing positive in Androscoggin County in 2025, a skunk tested positive for rabies earlier this year in that county.

A total of 29 animals have tested positive for rabies in the state so far in 2025. Fifteen were raccoons, with two cases each in the counties of Cumberland, Kennebec, Oxford, Somerset and York, and one each in Franklin, Hancock, Knox, Waldo and Washington counties.

Five bats have tested positive for rabies, with one case each in Cumberland, Kennebec, Penobscot, Waldo and York.

Prior to the one in Auburn, four foxes tested positive, one each in Cumberland, Kennebec, Somerset and York counties.

In addition to the one case in Androscoggin County, Waldo County reported two cases of rabid skunks and Cumberland County one.

There were 61 confirmed cases across the state in 2024, 75 in 2023, and 35 in 2022.

In 2023, several rabid animals attacked people in the Bath area.

EXACT LOCATION UNCLEAR: State officials have not released the neighborhood in Auburn where the rabid fox was located.

In part, that decision is made to protect the identity of anyone who needs to seek treatment for themselves or a pet.

Officials also say the exact location of the animal is less important than knowing that rabies could be present in wild animals in the general area and taking precautions.

“Wild animals, especially when sick with rabies, do not respect property or geographic boundaries and may travel a great distance while sick,” the Maine CDC said in a communication with Auburn officials.

WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT: Rabies in people is rare in the United States. However, if someone is bitten and doesn’t get the proper treatment, it could be fatal.

Experts say people should make sure all domesticated animals are up to date on their rabies vaccinations, and keep an eye out for any infected wild animals.

Vaccines are considered the best way to prevent the spread of rabies; state law requires cats and dogs over the age of 3 months to be vaccinated against the virus. Human rabies vaccines are available and also used as treatment if a person is bitten by a suspected rabid animal. Those vaccines are nearly 100% effective at preventing the disease if administered before or soon after a bite.

The rabies virus can be found in the saliva, brain, and spinal cord of infected animals. All mammals, or animals with fur that can produce milk, can get rabies. Raccoons, skunks, foxes, and bats are more likely to spread rabies.

A rabies exposure happens when the saliva or neural tissue of a rabid animal comes in contact with a person or animal through a bite or scratch, a cut in the skin, or the eyes, nose or mouth.

Rabies does not spread by petting animals or by touching dried saliva, blood, urine, or feces of a rabid animal.

Signs of rabies in a wild animal include unusual behavior, including unusual tameness and being out in the daytime if normally nocturnal. Pets may have trouble eating or drinking, or exhibit a change in temperament.

Signs and symptoms of having rabies are a fever, headache and feeling very tired. If you have been exposed to rabies through a domestic animal (a cat or dog), clean all wounds with soap and water for 10 to 15 minutes; call your local animal control office and your health care provider.

If a domestic pet is exposed to rabies, people should call their local animal control officer; call their veterinarian; if fully vaccinated, the cat or dog will likely require a 45-day observation period to rule out rabies. If it is a wild animal, call the local game warden.

If you believe you may have been exposed to rabies from a wild animal, the animal needs to be tested to rule out rabies. If the animal is not available for testing, an exposed person should start rabies post-exposure treatment, unless the unavailable animal is a small rodent, rabbit, hare, or opossum, in which case post-exposure treatment is unnecessary, the CDC says.

Rabies is very rare among small rodents, vaccinated pets, and farm animals, according to the CDC.

Bats rarely have rabies. However, people should take precautions if exposed. Bat exposure may include: Pets or livestock holding a bat in their mouths or being in the same area as the bat, like a living room or barn; bites; scratches; handling a bat without gloves; waking up to a bat in the bedroom; or finding a bat in a room with an unaccompanied child or incapacitated adult, according to the CDC.