Police warn of widespread epidemic of rabies after infection of 4th animal

Brunswick police said Tuesday that there appears to be a widespread rabies outbreak in the city after a fourth confirmed case of the disease in an animal.

Police have been informed this week that a fourth wild animal has been tested positive for rabies. the last three weeks. A rabid animal – a fox – attacked a man who was gardening on Bouchard Drive on June 29th.

The man was able to control the fox with a shovel without being exposed, according to the police.

There were 33 Confirmed According to the Maine Center for Disease Prevention and Control, animal rabies has been reported this year in Maine. Six cases were confirmed in Cumberland County and there were eight confirmed cases in Piscataquis County. Almost all animals with rabies were raccoons

Last year, there were 67 cases of rabies in Maine, including two cases in Brunswick, according to the Maine CDC

. 13, a woman on High Street left her dog outside, where he fought with a skunk who was later tested positive for rabies. The woman tried to hold the skunk away by spraying it with a hose, the police said.

Later in the week, a fox attacked a Brunswick woman who was recovering her mail and biting a neighbor who was trying to help her. Both residents were treated at the Mid Coast Hospital and the fox was shot dead by a police officer. The 72-year-old woman, Barbara Senecal, later stated that the fox "looked mean" and knocked her out and bit her legs and arm

. June 25, a 95-year-old man repaired the bridge on his house on Breckan Road when a fox approached him. Robert Galen used a broken board to repel the fox, which later proved positive to rabies.

"I was aware of rabies incidents in Brunswick so I almost instinctively hit that animal on the head with the club I had, thankfully, in my hand," Galen said. says after meeting with fox.

Animals tested positive for rabies in downtown, Meadowbrook, Pleasant Street and River Road areas, said police, animals that can be vaccinated are up-to-date on their rabies vaccines, "said Major Mark Waltz in a statement. "Residents and visitors should also be very vigilant when they encounter wild animals."

There have also been reports of rabies reported outside Brunswick this year. In Rockland, a woman from South Carolina was bitten by a raging river otter who ran to a beach and chased people away. Laurie Nevins, who was on vacation in Maine, captured the video attack. The otter was shot by the police to be tested against rabies.

Rabies is a disease that affects the brain and spinal cord and is usually transmitted by a bite or scratch. animal that has the virus. If it's not treated, it can be deadly.

All mammals are able to withstand the viral disease, which affects the central nervous system. Human cases are extremely rare. Since 2003, there have been only 34 cases of human rabies reported nationally, and no cases in Maine. The last human case in Maine was in 1997, according to the CDC, and resulted in the death of the person.

Once symptoms appear – typically fever, encephalopathy (brain damage), drooling and hydrophobia (extreme fear of water) – Rabies is almost always fatal in animals. Humans can survive the disease, but it is considered serious.

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