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The Harford County Health Department issued an alert cautioning that on Thursday, the agency received confirmation from the Maryland Department of Health that a raccoon tested positive for the virus in Fallston.
While the raccoon was found near the 2200 block of Pleasantville Road, and may have exposed other people or pets in the surrounding area., they said.
"It may seem like there have been a lot of rabies exposure alerts lately, but the number of positive rabid animals that the Harford County Health Department submitted for testing is not out of line with other years," officials noted.
"The major change is that the Harford County Health Department is now informing the public of all positive test results in an attempt to give the public as much information as possible, whereas in previous years we only put out press releases for a select few positive animals where it was more likely that human or pet contact could have occurred."
Rabies is a viral disease that mainly infects mammals (warm-blooded animals who nurse their young) and is spread through the saliva of the infected animal, usually by a bite or scratch, officials said.
Symptoms of rabies in animals may include fear of water, excessive salivation, failure to eat or drink, limping, unusually friendly or aggressive behavior, and/or other atypical behaviors such as nocturnal animals emerging during the daytime.
The disease is nearly always fatal to humans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Witnessing a raccoon is not cause for alarm, but if you or your pets have had contact with a raccoon, please contact the Harford County Department of Health (by calling (410) 877-2300.)"
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