HealthFriday, November 6
A person near Payton Avenue in Warwick began rabies treatment after a raccoon exposure
The Morning Warwick team
If you live near Payton Avenue, this one's for you. A person there started rabies treatment Sunday, Nov. 1, after being exposed to a raccoon, according to the state Health Department. The raccoon wasn't captured, so it couldn't be tested.
- Weekday line: 401-222-2577, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
- After hours: 401-276-8046
- Pet may have met the raccoon? Call RIDOH, animal control and your vet
- Rabies shots for dogs, cats and ferrets: required by state law
Statewide, 46 animals have tested positive so far this year, nearly twice the annual average of 25 from 2021 to 2025. Six of them were in Warwick: four raccoons and two bats. The state's epidemiologist acknowledged there are “a lot of unanswered questions” about the cause.
Raccoons account for 25 of the 46. Bats are next at 14, then four skunks. A woodchuck, a coyote and a cat round it out. People exposed to rabies get a series of shots over four to five weeks.