2 New Animals Found With Rabies in Middlesex County This Week

North Brunswick Township, NJ - Two new animals tested positive for rabies in North Brunswick Township, the Middlesex County Office of Health Services announced Friday.

This makes 16 total rabid animals reported in Middlesex County so far in 2016, and the third and fourth rabid animals reported in North Brunswick Township alone. Prior to this, a rabid raccoon and bat were found in North Brunswick in July. Both animals died while on their way to be tested.

On Monday the Animal Control Officer for North Brunswick responded to a call concerning a skunk that was found to be acting strangely in the vicinity of Thalia Street and Excelsior Avenue. The skunk was sent to the New Jersey State Department of Health Laboratory for testing. One day later, on Tuesday, another North Brunswick Animal Control officer responded to a call concerning a fox that was acting strangely in the vicinity of Newton Street and Bradley Street. The fox was sent to the state lab, as well, and both lab tests came back positive for rabies on Thursday.

There are no known human or animal exposures to the skunk or the fox. Make sure all family pets are up to date on their rabies vaccines, the county says, and avoid wild animals.

Other rabies cases in Middlesex County so far in 2016:

July 17: A raccoon was found to be acting strangely near Constitution Circle and Society Hill Way in North Brunswick. It was captured and died on the way to the state lab for testing. Test results came back positive for rabies.

July 2: A raccoon got into a fight with someone's cat in a Highland Park backyard. The raccoon was found to have rabies and the cat scratched its owner after the fight. Both the owner and cat were monitored, and showed no signs of the virus.

June 29: A rabid groundhog attacked someone's potbellied pet pig in Old Bridge.

June 29: Two dogs got into a fight with a rabid raccoon in Spotswood. They were monitored for signs of rabies.

May 16: People stumbled across a lethargic raccoon drooling saliva in an East Brunswick parking lot and called 911. The animal tested positive.

While the rabies virus can spread to any warm-blooded mammal, it is most commonly found in bats, raccoons, skunks, groundhogs, foxes, cats and dogs, which represent about 95% of animals diagnosed with rabies in the United States.