SABATTUS — The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention issued a warning to the town Tuesday morning about a case of rabies in the area.
The letter, addressed to the town manager, said the CDC detected rabies in a skunk Friday. The letter did not specify where the skunk was found, only that residents should avoid touching wild animals and that all domesticated animals should be up to date on their rabies vaccines.
Animal Control Officer Jeff Cooper said Maine Warden Service dispatched the skunk and sent it to CDC labs for testing. Neither Cooper nor local law enforcement were involved, he said.
Spokesman for the Maine CDC and Maine Warden Service were not immediately available Tuesday.
Rabies is a fatal virus that resides in and affects the brain and spinal cord, and is mostly found in wild mammals, according to Maine CDC information. The virus is transferred through all bodily fluids and happens because of bites and scratches from infected animals.
The incubation period for the virus it between two weeks and two months before it begins attacking the brain.
Signs for rabies vary, but animals with the virus may act shy, fearful, mean or extremely friendly or may stumble as if intoxicated. Early signs of rabies in humans include fever, headaches, lethargy, unclear thinking and anxiety. Once signs of the virus are apparent, death usually occurs.
Rabies is treatable in humans quickly after exposure. Those potentially exposed to the virus should contact their medical care providers to see if a vaccine is necessary. Pet owners should contact a veterinarian and the local animal control officer if their pet is bitten or scratched by an animal.
Wild animal attacks should prompt a call to a local game warden, or the local animal control officer if it’s a cat or dog.
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