Wild raccoon breeding puts Lansing Environmental Health on alert for rabies risk

Tompkins County Whole Health’s Environmental Health Division has issued an alert to the community, asking residents of the Lansing area to be on alert for potential rabies exposures near the Milton Meadows apartment complex.

The alert, issued June 4, indicates that upon the death of a mother raccoon, a litter of raccoon kits were taken into the home of a resident at the complex at 42 Auburn Rd., on or around May 15. Officials with the department’s Environmental Health Division said in a press release that they believe members of the community may have been exposed to the raccoon kits multiple times, including a group of children who were celebrating a birthday party on May 18.

Environmental Health urges anyone who has been in contact with the raccoons to call the office at 607-274-6688 to try and determine the risk of rabies exposure. The department is also looking to locate and interview anyone who has had contact with the racoons to determine if rabies post-exposure treatment is needed. 

The rabies virus, the press release notes, can be transmitted through the saliva of an infected animal entering an open wound or mucous membrane (eyes, nose or mouth), and a bite does not necessarily have to occur. The only way to determine if a wild animal is rabid is through testing of the animal, the press release continues. Rabies is a life-threatening illness, and treatment must begin as soon as possible to prevent death.

Tompkins County Whole Health Commissioner Frank Kruppa commented on rabies in the county in a press statement.

“Raccoons are a rabies-vector species and should never be brought into your home. In Tompkins County, there are certified wildlife rehabilitation specialists who can assist in these circumstances,” Kruppa said. “Certified wildlife rehab specialists are vaccinated for rabies and are prepared to handle rabies-vector species such as raccoons, foxes, skunks and bats.”

Four of the five raccoons have been recovered and submitted for rabies testing, the department’s press release said. Three of the raccoons tested negative for rabies, while the fourth was inconclusive. Additionally, the fifth raccoon is unable to be recovered, so Environmental Health officials say they will not be able to completely rule out rabies transmission to the people potentially exposed. This makes it even more important for anyone potentially exposed to contact the department, officials said.

“It is dangerous and illegal to take wild animals into your home,” Kruppa added. “When you come across injured or abandoned wildlife, please contact animal control or a wildlife rehabilitation specialist to retrieve the animals and provide them with safe, proper care.”

The Environmental Health division listed the following as wildlife rehabilitation specialists in the area:

• For bats: Bats911.org at Wild Things Sanctuary, 607-200-4100
• For raccoons, skunks and foxes: Wildlife Wishing Well, 607-277-1574
• For all other wildlife: Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Health Center at Cornell, 607-253-3060

For more information, residents can access tompkinscountyny.gov/health/rabies#wildliferehab.

As general precaution the County Whole Health Department reminds county residents of the following recommendations: 

• Avoid contact with any unfamiliar cats or dogs and any wild animals.
• All cats, dogs and ferrets must have initial rabies vaccinations administered no later than four months of age. 
• Keep vaccinations current.
• Report the following incidents to Environmental Health, 24/7, at 607-274-6688:

1. All animal bites or scratches.
2. Any human or pet contact with saliva or other potentially infectious material (brain tissue, spinal tissue or cerebro-spinal fluid) of wild animals or any animal suspected of having rabies.
3. All bat bites, scratches or any mere skin contact with a bat, or a bat in a room with a child or a sleeping or impaired person.
   

Further information can be found at: tompkinscountyny.gov/health/rabies.

Lansing at Large appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Send story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com. Contact Eddie Velazquez at edvel37@gmail.com or on X (formerly Twitter) @ezvelazquez.

In brief:Yoga Shasta is hosting a chair yoga session July 1 at the Lansing Community Library from 10 to 11 a.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear loose and comfortable clothing. Chair yoga promotes balance, flexibility and coordination and reduces pain. Chair yoga is also known to lower the risk of falls, increase energy levels, enhance sleep and reduce stress and anxiety. The activity can dissolve tension, increase your strength and cardiovascular fitness and leave you with a greater awareness, calmness and overall sense of wholeness.

Classes are free and open to the general public. The suggested donation is $5.