FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 7, 2024

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) confirmed that a raccoon and a skunk from two different counties have tested positive for rabies. 

• A raccoon found near Deaton and Market streets in Ruby, S.C., has tested positive for rabies. No people are known to have been exposed at this time. One dog was exposed and will be quarantined as required in the South Carolina Rabies Control Act.
• A skunk found near Harper Road and Connelly Werth Lane in Pendleton, S.C., has also tested positive for rabies. No people are known to have been exposed at this time. One dog was exposed and will be quarantined as required in the Rabies Control Act.

Both the Chesterfield County raccoon and the Anderson County skunk were submitted to DHEC’s laboratory on March 5, 2024, and were confirmed to have rabies on March 6, 2024.

If you believe you, someone you know or your pets have come in contact with either the Chesterfield County raccoon or Anderson County skunk, or another animal that potentially has rabies, please call DHEC's Public Health Florence office at (843) 915-8801 or Anderson office at (864) 372-3270 during normal business hours (8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday) or after hours and on holidays at (888) 847-0902 (Select Option 2).

“Keeping your pets up to date on their rabies vaccination is the easiest way to protect you and your family from this deadly virus,” said Terri McCollister, Rabies Program director. “Any mammal has the ability to carry and transmit the disease to people or pets. Therefore, give wild and stray animals plenty of space.”

In South Carolina, rabies is most often found in wildlife such as raccoons, skunks, foxes and bats, but pets are just as susceptible to the virus. If you see an animal in need, avoid touching it. Contact someone trained in handling animals, such as your local animal control officer, wildlife control officer or a wildlife rehabilitator. An exposure is defined as direct contact (such as through broken skin or mucous membranes in the eyes, nose or mouth) with saliva or brain/nervous system tissue from an infected animal.

In 2024, the Chesterfield County raccoon is the first animal to test positive for rabies in that county, and the Anderson County skunk is the first animal in that county to test positive for rabies. There have been 12 cases of rabid animals statewide this year. Since 2002, South Carolina has averaged approximately 148 positive cases a year. Of the 78 confirmed rabies cases in South Carolina in 2023, none were in Chesterfield County, and seven were in Anderson County.

Contact information for local Public Health offices is available at scdhec.gov/RabiesContacts. For more information on rabies visit scdhec.gov/rabies or cdc.gov/rabies.

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