FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 17, 2023

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) confirmed that a raccoon found near U.S. Highway 25 and Matthew Heights Road in Greenwood, S.C. has tested positive for rabies.

No people are known to have been exposed at this time. Two dogs were exposed and will be quarantined as required in the South Carolina Rabies Control Act.

The raccoon was submitted to DHEC's laboratory for testing on July 13, 2023, and was confirmed to have rabies on July 14, 2023. If you believe you, someone you know or your pets have come in contact with this raccoon, or another animal that potentially has rabies, please call DHEC's Public Health Greenwood office at (864) 942-3600 during normal business hours (8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday) or after hours and on holidays at (888) 847-0902 (Select Option 2).

"To reduce the risk of getting rabies, always give wild and stray animals plenty of space," said Terri McCollister, Rabies Program Team Leader. "If you see an animal in need, avoid touching it and contact someone trained in handling animals, such as your local animal control officer, wildlife control operator or wildlife rehabilitator."

An exposure is defined as direct contact (such as through broken skin or mucous membranes in the eyes, nose or mouth) with saliva or brain/nervous system tissue from an infected animal. If your pet is found with wounds of unknown origin, please consider that your pet may have been exposed to rabies.

It is important to keep pets up to date on their rabies vaccination, which is one of the easiest and most effective ways to protect against the disease. This raccoon is the first animal in Greenwood County to test positive for rabies in 2023. There have been 34 cases of rabid animals statewide this year. Since 2002, South Carolina has averaged approximately 148 positive cases a year. In 2022, three of the 83 confirmed rabies cases in South Carolina were in Greenwood County.

Contact information for local Public Health offices is available at https://scdhec.gov/RabiesContacts. For more information on rabies, visit scdhec.gov/rabies or cdc.gov/rabies.