Ellijay (GA) – Health officials announced today that a dog in Gilmer County, Georgia was quarantined after potential exposure to a rabid raccoon.
Gilmer County Environmental Health Manager Andrea Martin said that on March 30, the owner of the dog submitted the dead raccoon to their office for rabies testing after finding the dog at the owner’s residence in the Boardtown Road area with blood on its mouth and then discovering the body of the raccoon on the property.
Martin sent the raccoon to the Georgia Public Health Laboratory for rabies testing and the positive results were reported on March 31.
No bites or scratches were observed on the dog; however, officials strongly suspected it fought with the raccoon. Since the dog was not vaccinated against rabies, it is being isolated under a strict six-month quarantine at the owner’s residence and will be monitored by Gilmer County Environmental Health staff.
There was no human exposure in this case.
Martin strongly advised residents to maintain rabies vaccinations in pets.
“By maintaining rabies vaccinations in our pets, we are not only protecting our animals, we are protecting ourselves, our family and our community,” said Martin. “If our pets are exposed to rabies and are not vaccinated, they can spread the deadly disease to us and to others.”
Martin said that an upcoming opportunity to get pets vaccinated for rabies at a reduced cost will be at the Gilmer County Vaccine Clinic hosted by the VCA Appalachian Animal Hospital on Saturday, April 23. (Click here for details.)
For more information about rabies and its prevention, contact the local county environmental health office. In Gilmer County, the phone number is (706) 635-6050. Information is also available on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at www.cdc.gov/rabies.