Rabid Kitten May Have Been Exposed To More People At Southbury's Town Wide Tag Sale

SOUTHBURY, CT — A rabid kitten may have been exposed to additional people at the June 3rd Southbury Town Wide Tag Sale held on the Green, the state Department of Public Health said in a news release.

The Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) and the Pomperaug Health District today updated the public health notice that was issued on Saturday, June 10 regarding a rabid kitten first found in the area of the Wal-Mart off of Rt. 69 in Waterbury.

DPH is now advising anyone who may have handled the 4-5 week-old injured Black and White kitten with a damaged nose, at the Southbury Town Wide Tag Sale on June 3 to seek medical advice, according to a news release. The Tag Sale was at the Southbury Green (ShopRite) located at 775 Main Street, South.

It is believed that most of the time the kitten was located near the Whiskers Pet Rescue Booth. The kitten died on June 8th and tested positive for rabies on June 9th, State Health officials said.

Rabies is a viral disease primarily of animals caused by infection of the brain and spinal cord. People get rabies from the bite of an infected animal. While rabies is a fatal disease once clinical signs appear, it can be prevented by thorough wound cleaning and timely medical treatment that includes administration of one dose of immune globulin (antibodies) and 4 doses of vaccine over 2 weeks.

For questions regarding human rabies exposures contact the DPH Epidemiology and Emerging Infections Program at 860-509-7994.