North Carolina health officials are asking people who visited a mobile petting zoo to contact their county health department after four baby goats tested positive for rabies.
Farm Adventures, a Harmony-based petting zoo that travels to events across the state, had the animals—named Molly, Maggie, Cow and Uno—confirmed to have the virus at the North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health. The animals have been euthanized.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is urging anyone who had direct contact with the baby goats from Farm Adventures between July 28 and Aug. 27 to reach out to their local health department. The exposure window covers visitors at the petting zoo's Harmony location and those who attended off-site events in multiple counties.
"Anyone who had contact with baby goats from Farm Adventures, either at its Harmony location or at an off-site event during that timeframe, should contact their local health department to determine whether medication is needed to prevent infection," the NCDHHS said in its guidance.
According to the business, the baby goats were housed separately from other animals. The goats were too young to receive rabies vaccinations when a skunk entered their pen. Although the skunk was removed, Farm Adventures said staff were unaware the animals had been bitten.
"They showed no sign or symptoms of rabies," the petting zoo stated in a Facebook post.
The situation came to light after one of the goats was sent for a necropsy following a veterinary examination, which led to the positive rabies confirmation.
Rabies is a serious viral disease transmitted through bites or scratches from infected animals. If left untreated after exposure, the infection is nearly always fatal once symptoms appear. In the United States, bats, skunks, raccoons and foxes are the animals most commonly found carrying the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
About 100,000 Americans receive rabies post-exposure prophylaxis—the preventive vaccine treatment—each year following potential contact with infected animals. The disease remains extremely rare in humans nationally, with no confirmed cases reported in North Carolina since 2011.
Farm Adventures said it is working with public health authorities, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and local animal control to address the situation. "These past few days have been incredibly difficult for us," the business said in a statement.
The NCDHHS investigation is ongoing. Health officials said additional information about potential exposure sites will be released as the review progresses. Event organizers who hosted Farm Adventures during the exposure window are being notified directly.
For residents with questions about potential exposure, local county health departments remain the primary point of contact. The health department can assess individual risk based on the type and extent of contact with the animals.
