North Carolina Boy Starts 6 Rabies Shots After 3 Petting Zoo Goats Test Positive
Updated
Updated · NBC News · Aug 31
North Carolina Boy Starts 6 Rabies Shots After 3 Petting Zoo Goats Test Positive
3 articles · Updated · NBC News · Aug 31
Summary
A 4-year-old North Carolina boy received the first two of six rabies shots after feeding baby goats at an Aug. 15 petting zoo event in Mocksville.
Three baby goats tested positive for rabies and a fourth was suspected, prompting euthanasia and a state effort to identify others exposed at the mobile zoo's events from July 28 to Aug. 23.
Farm Adventures said the goats were too young to be vaccinated and were likely infected by a skunk that entered their pen.
Rabies post-exposure treatment is nearly 100% effective before symptoms begin, but the disease is almost always fatal once symptoms appear.
North Carolina health officials said they do not yet know how many people were exposed; CDC data show about 100,000 Americans receive post-exposure shots each year.