Cat With Rabies Confirmed In Haddon Township: Health Department

HADDON TOWNSHIP, NJ — A cat caught by a Haddon Township resident tested positive for rabies after euthanization, said Camden County health officials.

The resident trapped the cat and called animal control, who picked it up and brought it to a local shelter. The cat started to show symptoms of rabies and was euthanized on Jan. 25, according to the Camden County Health Department.

The cat had scratched five animal shelter employees, said officials, adding that scratches "are not considered as an exposure to rabies unless the wound is contaminated with saliva." The resident who trapped the cat was not scratched or bitten, said officials.

The exposed shelter employees were directed to discuss rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) with their physicians, said officials.

The shelter arranged for the cat to be sent to the Public Health & Environmental Laboratories (PHEL) in Trenton. The NJ Department of Health and Human Services notified the Camden County Health Department that it tested positive for rabies, officials said on Monday.

A “Health Bulletin” was distributed in the area that the cat was found, said officials.