Worcester Plans Rabies Clinics

SNOW HILL -- The Worcester County Health Department this week issued a reminder to county residents about the dangers of rabies and announced a series of upcoming clinics.

According to the health department, rabid animals continue to be found in all areas of Worcester County, even within town limits. There have been seven confirmed rabid raccoons thus far in 2012 and two of them were found in the town limits of Snow Hill and Pocomoke. Raccoons are the most frequently identified carriers of rabies in Maryland and throughout Worcester County, but the deadly viral disease has also been found in Worcester in foxes, skunks, cats, groundhogs and bats.

Cat with rabies serve as a reminder that the disease is not only associated with wild animals. Cats are the number one domestic animal species most likely to be unvaccinated and are at higher risk of exposure to rabid wildlife while outdoors. In Worcester County, there have been four laboratory confirmed cases of rabid cats in the last two-and-a-half years with a number of human and pet exposures.

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