Last Friday, Rebecca Lanning received an alarming phone call about her 4-year-old son’s exposure to rabies during a family outing. Thirteen days earlier, on August 15, the family visited a dinosaur exhibit in Mocksville, North Carolina, which featured food trucks, carnival games, and a petting zoo where her son fed baby goats by hand. It wasn’t until her son’s aunt alerted her to the situation that Lanning, 30, from Marion, realized the potential danger.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced that three baby goats at the petting zoo tested positive for rabies. The goats, along with a fourth suspected of infection, were euthanized. Concerned for her son’s safety, Lanning immediately took him to the doctor. He received the initial two of six rabies vaccine doses, called post-exposure prophylaxis. These vaccinations aim to stop the rabies virus if administered before symptoms begin. Rabies, attacking the brain and spinal cord, becomes almost always fatal once symptoms start. The vaccine proves nearly 100% effective if given promptly.
Lanning expressed concern about her young son’s possible contact with the infected goats. “My fear is that if he was feeding the goats, and he’s 4, who’s to say that he didn’t touch his mouth or eyes? I don’t want to bury my child,” she stated. So far, Lanning’s son has received three rabies vaccinations and will need three more.
Rabies symptoms can take weeks to months to manifest after exposure. Initial signs resemble flu symptoms, such as weakness, fatigue, fever, and headaches. According to the North Carolina health department, a “prickling or itching sensation” might occur where individuals were touched or bitten.
The department is uncertain about the number of people potentially exposed to the goats from the North Carolina-based mobile petting zoo, Farm Adventures, which participated in events from July 28 through August 23. Besides the dinosaur exhibit in Mocksville, the petting zoo goats attended private events, including birthday parties and a “back-to-school bash,” and visited an assisted living center.
A representative from Farm Adventures did not provide a comment. However, a Facebook post mentioned the young goats, too young to vaccinate, likely contracted rabies from a skunk. Skunks, bats, raccoons, and foxes are common rabies carriers.
The state health department is collaborating with local health departments and healthcare systems to ensure that rabies post-exposure prophylaxis is available to those in need.
Rabies outbreaks appear to be increasing across the U.S. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that every year, about 1.4 million Americans are monitored for potential exposure, and around 100,000 receive post-exposure prophylaxis shots.