Rabid ferret — first in N.C. — draws warnings

ASHEVILLE — Public health officials are urging residents to get their pets vaccinated against rabies after a Buncombe County ferret was found to have the first documented case of rabies in a ferret in North Carolina.

The case was one of several animals found to be rabid in recent weeks. State Public Health Veterinarian Carl Williams said the state has already confirmed 480 rabies cases in animals this year.

Marc Fowler, environmental health director at the Buncombe County Health Center, said public health officials learned about the ferret last week after it bit a South Asheville man.

He said the pet typically lived inside but escaped for 24 hours and returned with injuries.

The animal bit the man and then later died. The man is not known to be sick, Fowler said.

Officials have determined that the ferret was infected by the strain of virus that comes from raccoons.

“Ferrets are animals that can get rabies, but it’s not that common,” Williams said.

Fowler said rodents such as chipmunks and squirrels can get the virus but often do not survive an attack long enough to become infected.

Rabies is most often spread through a bite, infects the central nervous system and can cause death, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. It is always fatal for animals.

Fowler said 18 cases of rabies have been confirmed in Buncombe County animals this year — a number that is about average. In 2004, the most recent year nationwide data are available, North Carolina had more cases of animal rabies than any other state except Texas, Williams said.

Seven people exposed to a rabid cat in Cleveland County got post-exposure treatment recently. Williams said vaccines alone cost $1,300, much more than the cost of vaccinating a pet.

The cat was found last week, as was a rabid dog in Onslow County. A groundhog in Forsyth County also recently tested positive for rabies.