Rabies
What is rabies?
Rabies is a disease caused by a virus. It affects the brain and spinal cord. Rabies can cause death if left untreated. Rabies in people is very rare in the United States, but rabies in animals - especially wildlife - is common in most parts of the country, including Maine. We call an animal with rabies a rabid animal.
How is rabies spread?
The rabies virus lives in the saliva, brain, and spinal cord (neural tissue) of infected animals. It spreads when a rabid animal bites or scratches a person or animal. It can also spread if a rabid animal's saliva or neural tissue comes in contact with a person or animal's mouth, nose or eyes, or if it enters a cut in the skin.
Rabies does not spread by petting animals or by touching dried saliva, blood, urine, or feces of a rabid animal.
What animals can carry rabies?
In Maine, the most commonly infected animals are skunks, raccoons, bats, and foxes. Rabies can infect any animal that has hair, but is very rare among small rodents like squirrels, rats, mice, and chipmunks.