Cuddly raccoon turns out to be rabid

BLUFFTON -- Sixteen people who fed, kissed and held a baby raccoon on Hilton Head Island are now being treated by a physician after the animal tested positive for rabies.

Twenty of their pets are under quarantine for 45 days, said Clair Boatwright, spokeswoman for the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.

There are also seven more people who might need vaccines to prevent them

from contracting the disease, she said.

Though the raccoon was found on Hilton Head, Boatwright was not sure if all

of those exposed are Beaufort County residents. DHEC would not release

names.

"Someone adopted a baby raccoon and passed it around to everyone they knew

and kissed it on the lips," Boatwright said. "There was a lot of affectionate handling, kissing it and feeding it. Part of that is it was 3 weeks old and they inserted fingers into the raccoon's mouth. Saliva is one

way that rabies spreads."

Boatwright said the baby raccoon did not show signs of the disease, but got

sick on Monday and had seizures. On Tuesday, a veterinarian euthanized the

animal and sent it to DHEC, where it tested positive for rabies.

In most cases, Boatwright said, wild animals will not showsigns of rabies

and people will not experience symptoms if they are exposed to the disease.

"Once you have a symptom, it has reached the brain and it is fatal," she

said. "If you are exposed to the disease, it doesn't mean you have developed

the disease. That's when we can prevent it."

DHEC urges everyone to leave wild animals alone. Anyone exposed to the

rabies virus through a bite, scratch or saliva of a possibly infected animal

should wash the affected area, seek medical attention and report the

incident, DHEC said.

Every year, about 400 South Carolinians have to undergo preventive treatment

for rabies. This is the first confirmed rabid animal in Beaufort County in 2008. Last year, there were 162 confirmed cases of rabid animals across the state; none was in Beaufort County.