Raccoon tests positive in Angola attack

Christine King admits she was shaken when she was told a raccoon that had bitten her tested positive as the first confirmed case of rabies in 2018.

“I had just been able to calm myself down,” said King, describing her state of mind Jan 15. “It’s all still surreal.”

The rabid raccoon attacked King around 3 a.m., Jan. 10. It had made its way to the foot of her bed after entering the home through a cat door.

In an interview Jan. 11, King said she heard a noise and got out of bed to see what it was about, thinking it was one of her four cats. That’s when the raccoon latched on to her leg.

During the earlier interview, King and her husband Bruce were able to laugh about the commotion, which ended when Bruce shot the raccoon with a handgun.

The mood changed abruptly Jan. 12 when the raccoon was confirmed rabid. “It brought back a bunch of emotions,” said King.

The attack on King marks the second time in a month a person has been bitten by a rabid raccoon. On Dec. 12, the raccoon that bit a Kings Creek homeowner Dec. 9 was confirmed rabid.

According to a Jan. 12 release from the division confirming the rabid Angola raccoon, the state tested 143 animals statewide in 2017, with 16 confirmed rabid. Information found on the division’s website, dating back to 2010, shows the number of rabies tests performed is about average, while the number of confirmed cases is on the high side – in 2012 and 2013 there were 14 and 17 confirmed rabies cases.

According to the release, the state has performed rabies tests on four animals in 2018; the Angola test being the first positive.

The Health Department website shows more animals are tested in New Castle County, while Sussex County had the lowest number of tested animals in all but two years, 2013 and 2015.

In an email Jan. 15, Andrea Wojcik, DPH spokeswoman, said all the state epidemiologists were off because of the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday, but New Castle probably has more cases because the population is higher.

“New Castle County has a significant number of rural areas, just as the rest of the state does,” she said. “However, as rabies is endemic in Delaware, animals can travel from rural to urban areas.”

Asked if the number of reports is likely to rise in Sussex as the population grows, Wojcik said it is a possibility, but there’s no evidence to suggest that will be the case.

In Angola, King’s regimen of rabies vaccination shots continues Wednesday, Jan. 17 – she had a dozen the day of the attack and another Jan. 13. She said her final shot is scheduled for Jan. 24.

King said she credits her husband, with his Marines-honed preparedness, for stopping the raccoon as quickly as he did. It was scary, but it could have been much worse, she said.

“I know it sounds weird, but I feel fortunate,” King said.

King said her nerves have calmed about the rabies, but she and her husband have been left paranoid about the wildlife in their wooded neighborhood.

“We’re on alert,” she said. “The cat door is closed for business.”

Rabies deadly

The Division of Public Health says only mammals carry rabies, and the most common carrier in Delaware is the raccoon. Rabies is a deadly disease caused by a virus that attacks the central nervous system – the brain and spinal cord.

A public health pamphlet says exposure to a rabid animal does not always result in rabies, but if rabies exposure is not treated and a person develops clinical signs of rabies, the disease is always considered to be fatal.

“If treatment is initiated promptly following a rabies exposure, rabies can be prevented,” the pamphlet states.

Anyone who thinks they might have been bitten, scratched or come in contact with a raccoon should immediately contact a healthcare provider or call the DPH Rabies Program at 302-744-4995. An epidemiologist is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Also anyone who thinks their pet may have been bitten by this raccoon should call their private veterinarian or the Delaware Department of Agriculture at 302-698-4630.