Raccoon Tests Positive For Rabies In Brookhaven

BROOKHAVEN, GA — A raccoon caught earlier this week has tested positive for rabies, DeKalb County officials announced Thursday. The animal was captured Monday in the 1700 block of Beverly Woods Court off Chamblee-Dunwoody Road in Brookhaven, the county said.

Residents are being advised to watch their pets and contact DeKalb Animal Control if they see in their animals any symptoms of rabies, such as excessive drooling or foaming at the mouth. (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app).

Rabies are usually contracted through the transmission of saliva, usually from a bite, the county said.

In addition to raccoons, other wild animals that are known carriers of rabies include skunks, bats, and foxes, according to the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Symptoms in humans are similar to that of other ailments, the agency says.

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Symptoms in humans could include fever, headache or general discomfort or fatigue, the CDC says. As an infected person's health worsens, symptoms may include "insomnia, anxiety, confusion, slight or partial paralysis, excitation, hallucinations, agitation, hypersalivation (increase in saliva), difficulty swallowing, and hydrophobia (fear of water)," the CDC says on its website.

The CDC also says transmission can occur through contact with infected animals' bodily excretions and tissues.

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