{"id":13686,"date":"2025-06-16T08:22:01","date_gmt":"2025-06-16T12:22:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/?page_id=13686"},"modified":"2025-06-16T08:27:49","modified_gmt":"2025-06-16T12:27:49","slug":"central-virginia-health-district-confirms-rabies-in-stray-cat","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/2025-regional-news-releases\/central-virginia-health-district-confirms-rabies-in-stray-cat\/","title":{"rendered":"Central Virginia Health District Confirms Rabies in Stray Cat"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>June 11, 2025<br \/>\n<strong>Media Contact:<\/strong> Kim Foster, kimberlee.foster@vdh.virginia.gov<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Central Virginia Health District Confirms Rabies in Stray Cat<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">LYNCHBURG, Va. &#8211; The Lynchburg City Health Department has received confirmation that a stray cat<br \/>\nsubmitted for testing on June 9 was positive for rabies. The cat attacked a woman on Early Street<br \/>\nnear Hollins Mill Road in Lynchburg. Anyone who may have been exposed to a cat or other animal, by<br \/>\na bite, scratch or contact with saliva, in that area should consult with their physician and<br \/>\ncontact the Lynchburg Health Department at (434) 477-5921. You may also contact the health<br \/>\ndepartment by email at askCVHD@vdh.virginia.gov.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">This incident is a reminder that rabies is present in Virginia and sometimes infects domestic<br \/>\nanimals like dogs and cats. Rabies is caused by a virus that attacks the nervous system and is<br \/>\nlethal if proper medical care is not given following an exposure to the virus. The most common<br \/>\nsource of exposure to rabies is a bite by a rabid animal. Rabies may also be transmitted by saliva<br \/>\nfrom a rabid animal coming into contact with open wounds, the mouth, eyes or nose.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Everyone should take commonsense measures to protect themselves and their domestic animals from<br \/>\nrabies. Pet owners should keep their pets up to date on their rabies vaccinations. Virginia law<br \/>\nrequires that all dogs and cats four months of age and older be vaccinated for rabies by a licensed<br \/>\nveterinarian, and that vaccinations be kept current. It is important to avoid contact with wild or<br \/>\nstray animals, and parents should be sure that their children are taught to not touch, pet or<br \/>\notherwise handle unknown animals.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">Additional steps that can be taken to prevent rabies in people and pets include:<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">\u2022 Do not feed stray animals. Avoid wild animals, especially raccoons, bats, foxes and skunks. Feed<br \/>\nyour pets indoors and do not let them wander.<br \/>\n\u2022 Teach children to avoid contact with wild animals and pets they are not familiar with.<br \/>\n\u2022 Do not handle sick, injured or dead animals. Contact a licensed wildlife rehabber if you have<br \/>\nconcerns about sick or injured wildlife.<br \/>\n\u2022 Keep wild animals out of homes by capping chimneys with screens and blocking openings in attics,<br \/>\ncellars and porches. Ensure trash cans have tight fitting lids.<br \/>\n\u2022 Do not try to trap or handle stray and wild animals. If a bat is found indoors and may have had<br \/>\ncontact with someone, do not release it. Call your local animal control officer or health<br \/>\ndepartment to determine if the animal should be picked up and tested for rabies.<br \/>\n\u2022 Report all bites to people to the local health department for investigation.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><strong>If you are bitten by a wild or stray animal do not panic. Wash the wound(s) thoroughly with warm <\/strong><strong>soapy water and contact animal control, your doctor or the health department for further <\/strong><strong>recommendations.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\">You may also visit the Virginia Department of Health\u2019s website at<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/epidemiology\/epidemiology-fact-sheets\/rabies\">https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/epidemiology\/epidemiology-fact-sheets\/rabies<\/a>\/ or the Centers for<br \/>\nDisease Control and Prevention\u2019s website at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/rabies\/\">https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/rabies\/<\/a> .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>June 11, 2025 Media Contact: Kim Foster, kimberlee.foster@vdh.virginia.gov Central Virginia Health District Confirms Rabies in Stray Cat LYNCHBURG, Va. &#8211; The Lynchburg City Health Department has received confirmation that a stray cat submitted for testing on June 9 was positive for rabies. The cat attacked a woman on Early Street near Hollins Mill Road in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":518,"featured_media":0,"parent":12292,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[872,1009,116,117,938,34,556,381],"class_list":["post-13686","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","tag-cat","tag-central-virginia-health-department","tag-cvhd","tag-lynchburg","tag-pet","tag-rabies","tag-rabies-vaccinations","tag-stray-animals"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Central Virginia Health District Confirms Rabies in Stray Cat - Newsroom<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/archived-news-releases\/2025-regional-news-releases\/central-virginia-health-district-confirms-rabies-in-stray-cat\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Central Virginia Health District Confirms Rabies in Stray Cat - Newsroom\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"June 11, 2025 Media Contact: Kim Foster, kimberlee.foster@vdh.virginia.gov Central Virginia Health District Confirms Rabies in Stray Cat LYNCHBURG, Va. &#8211; The Lynchburg City Health Department has received confirmation that a stray cat submitted for testing on June 9 was positive for rabies. 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