Rabid Raccoon Found on Monroe Twp. Back Porch

MONROE TOWNSHIP, NJ - A dead raccoon found on a back porch in Monroe Township has tested positive for rabies, the Middlesex County health department announced Thursday.

The raccoon was found Tuesday at a home in the vicinity of Florence Drive and Holly Road in Monroe, a rural farming area. The home's owner and two domestic pets stumbled onto the dead raccoon on the back porch of a residence in the area of Florence Drive.

The raccoon was sent to the New Jersey Department of Health Laboratory for testing, where it was reported on Thursday that the animal tested positive for rabies. There are no known human exposures, but the two pets were exposed. They are being monitored for signs of the virus.

Be sure that all family pets are up to date on their rabies vaccinations, health officials said. This is the first rabid animal reported within Middlesex County so far in 2017.