Dead raccoon in Suffolk tests positive for rabies, first time in 16 years

A dead raccoon tested positive for rabies in Suffolk County last month, a first in 16 years, Suffolk health officials announced Friday.

The raccoon was found deceased in North Amityville on Jan. 28 and sent to the New York State Department of Health’s Wadsworth Center in Albany for testing, Suffolk County Department of Health Services officials said in a release issued Friday after they received the results earlier in the day.

“There was no known human or animal contact with the raccoon,” the department’s release states.

Friday’s positive result marked the first case of rabies in a land mammal in Suffolk County since 2009, health officials said. Each year since 2016, the viral disease has been detected in 3 to 6% of all bats collected in Suffolk County and sent to the state lab.

Since 2016, the Suffolk County Department of Health Services has reported rabies in 24 bats and a single otter, Newsday previously reported.

Rabies cases recently spiked in Nassau County, where it was detected in a pair of feral cats and six raccoons, one of which bit and scratched a Massapequa Park resident who was treated with post-exposure prophylaxis, between July 2024 and January, Newsday previously reported. Throughout the eight years prior, the county only detected rabies in three bats, Newsday previously reported.

“I am very concerned about the spread of terrestrial rabies into Suffolk County,” said Dr. Gregson Pigott, commissioner of the Suffolk County Department of Health Services, in a statement issued Friday. "We have greatly enhanced our surveillance of terrestrial rabies since learning of raccoon rabies cases in Nassau County. We urge residents to vaccinate their pets and take appropriate precautions with wild animals.”

In addition to vaccinating and leashing dogs, cats and ferrets, as well as keeping livestock confined during the night, Pigott advises Suffolk residents to avoid contact with animals they are unfamiliar with. Residents should also discourage animals from seeking food near their homes, keep their garbage cans covered tightly and refrain from storing food outdoors.

The viral disease can be transmitted to animals and humans through bites and scratches and can be fatal if left untreated, Suffolk health officials said.

Residents can report raccoons behaving abnormally to the Suffolk County Police Department by calling 631-852-COPS or the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation at 631-444-0250.