Maine’s Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory on Thursday confirmed that a fox from Lisbon has tested positive for rabies.
Lisbon Police Chief Ryan McGee said a dog attacked the fox on Route 9 between Gould Road and Wing Street on Wednesday evening in Lisbon Falls.
“The fox was going after some chickens, and the dog attacked and killed it,” said McGee. “The dog is fully rabies vaccinated, which is an excellent thing.”
The patrol officers, who spotted the dead fox, took it to the state laboratory, where it was tested positive for rabies, added McGee.
The police department and the patrol officers are checking the area thoroughly to see if there are any other signs of other wild animals.
The dog will be in quarantine for a few days as per the protocol.
“Right now, we are not seeing any other wildlife in that area. This looks like a single incident, but we just got to watch closely,” said McGee.
On Thursday evening, a notice about the incident was sent to the public through emails and other social media pages.
While Androscoggin County had seven positive rabies cases last year, Cumberland and Sagadahoc counties had 11 rabies positive cases each, according to the Maine Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory data.
Lisbon, Lisbon Falls, Auburn and reported one rabies positive case each, Lewiston reported three cases last year.
While there were three rabies positive cases reported in Brunswick, Bath had one positive case reported, Phippsburg had three, West Bath had six reported cases and Woolwich had one.
There were no rabies positive cases reported from Topsham, according to the data.
The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention suggests never touching an animal that is wild or unknown to people.
Rabies is a disease that affects the brain and spinal cord and is caused by a virus. It is almost always fatal. Rabies in people is rare in the United States. Rabies in animals, mainly wild animals, is common in Maine.
It can take two weeks to 6 months for a domestic cat or dog to show signs of rabies after being infected. It is not known how long after infection a wild animal will get sick, according to Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
To report wild animal exposures: Call the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife dispatch center nearest you: Augusta: 1-800-452-4664 Bangor: 1-800-432-7381 Houlton: 1-800-924-2261
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