2 New Animals Found with Rabies Tuesday in North Brunswick

North Brunswick, NJ - The Middlesex County rabies count continues to climb this summer, and in some cases humans and pets are currently being monitored for signs of the virus.

Two new animals positive for rabies in North Brunswick, the county's Office of Health Services reported Tuesday afternoon. This brings the total to 14 rabid animals reported within Middlesex County in 2016.

This past Sunday, July 17, a raccoon was found to be acting strangely near Constitution Circle and Society Hill Way in North Brunswick. Animal Control officers responded and captured it. The raccoon died while in Animal Control custody and was sent to the New Jersey Department of Health Laboratory for testing. It came back Tuesday that the raccoon tested positive for rabies.

Then on Monday, a bat was found to be acting strangely in a North Brunswick resident’s yard on Adams Lane and 6th Street. Animal Control officers captured the bat, which also died in the custody of Animal Control; lab results came back positive for rabies.

Here are other recent rabies cases in Middlesex County:

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 are now being monitored.

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 are currently being 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.

Make sure all family pets are up to date on their rabies vaccines, the county says, and avoid wild animals.