The state Health Department in Palm Beach reported that a raccoon tested positive for rabies after biting a person Thursday in a western Boca Raton neighborhood on the 10,000 block of Marina Way.
The raccoon was captured by Animal Aninal Control.
“Area residents are advised to avoid contact with any wild animal, including stray cats, and to report any suspicious animals to Animal Control,” the department said in a press release.
This is the first case reported in Palm Beach this year, according to Rabies Surveillance Data from the Florida Department of Health.
There were two animals in Broward – a fox and a raccoon – that tested positive this year. There were no rabies animals in Miami-Dade this year, according to the data.
Rabies, which is a deadly disease of the nervous system for warm-blooded animals and humans, can only be treated with a specific immunoglobulin and rabies immunization.
For more information on rabies or other information of interest, you can consult the Florida Department of Health website .
