Four baby goats from a North Carolina mobile petting zoo tested positive for rabies and were euthanized, and health officials are asking anyone who may have had contact with them to reach out for possible treatment.<\/p>\n
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said anyone who had contact with the baby goats at Farm Adventures\u2019 location in Harmony, North Carolina, or at one of its mobile events between July 28 and Thursday should contact local health officials.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe petting zoo held off-site events involving children and elderly individuals across multiple counties within that time frame,\u201d the department said.<\/p>\n
Health professionals may determine whether people who had contact with the baby goats need further examination or precautionary medication, it said.<\/p>\n
Without it, rabies is almost always fatal in humans, the state health department said.<\/p>\n
Farm Adventures said in a statement posted to Facebook that it is monitoring its other animals for signs of the viral disease.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe affected animals, our four precious baby goats, have been euthanized to prevent further spread,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
The baby goats were too young for vaccination and were bitten by a skunk that was found in their separate pen, the petting zoo said.<\/p>\n
It said it was unaware the goats had been bitten, and that they did not show typical symptoms of the disease. After the first goat\u2019s death, the petting zoo sent its body to be tested, it said.<\/p>\n
It was unclear when the skunk was found in the pen.<\/p>\n