FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, June 22, 2017
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Skip Parr or Cynthia Mosher_ _at
274-6688
HEALTH DEPARTMENT WARNS OF RABID CAT FOUND ON
HALSEYVILLE ROAD
(ITHACA, NY, June 22, 2017) – The Tompkins County Health
Department reports that a cat located on Halseyville Road between
Mecklenberg and Aiken Roads in the Town of Enfield was determined to
be rabid by the New York State Rabies Laboratory on June 21, 2017.
The cat had short black fur with no distinguishing markings. If
you or your pets have had any contact with a cat meeting this
description in the Halseyville Road area between Mecklenberg and
Aiken Roads since June 1, 2017, please contact the Tompkins County
Environmental Health Division at 274-6688 immediately. Other feral
cats may have had contact with this cat. Any human or pet contact
with stray or feral cats should be avoided.
In addition, on June 20, 2017, the New York State Rabies Laboratory
confirmed a fox that attacked a person on Coddington Road in the
Town of Ithaca, was positive for rabies.
The Health Department reminds everyone to:
1. Avoid contact with any unfamiliar cats or dogs and any wild
animals.
2. All cats, dogs and ferrets must have initial rabies
vaccinations administered no later than four
months of age. Keep vaccinations current!
3. Report the following incidents to the Tompkins County
Health Department at 274-6688:
· All animal bites or scratches.
· Any human or pet contact with salvia or other
potentially infectious material (brain tissue, spinal tissue, or
cerebro-spinal fluid) of wild animals or any animal suspected of
having rabies.
· All bat bites, scratches, or any mere skin contact with
a bat, or a bat in a room with a child, or sleeping or impaired
person.