The New York State Department of Health has confirmed the fourth case of rabies found in a raccoon this year in Nassau County. The raccoon was found in Syosset on October 31st. Raccoons on Long Island remain active throughout the colder months. If residents see any animal, especially raccoons or opossums that are ill, dead or acting unusually, please call the Nassau County Department of Health at 571-2290 from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. or at 742-6154 after business hours, weekends or on holidays.

The third case of rabies in a raccoon was found in Oyster Bay on July 22; the second in Glen Cove on May 15 and the first animal was collected in Kings Point on February 6. Since the first rabid raccoon was found in Nassau County in 2004, 67 raccoons have been confirmed positive.

For the past three years, the New York State Department of Health, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Nassau County Department of Health have maintained programs to trap and test animals as well as to distribute raccoon rabies vaccine by hand and by helicopter. The goal is to prevent the establishment of terrestrial rabies on Long Island by capturing sick raccoons and by vaccinating a substantial percentage of healthy raccoons. In 2006, more than 500 animals were tested for rabies. Seventeen raccoons and two bats tested positive.

This year, the New York State Department of Health and the county are continuing to conduct a surveillance program. The Nassau County Department of Health is continuing to collect and test animals including planning another raccoon rabies immunization program.

To help protect your family and pets from rabies:

Verify that your pets have current rabies vaccinations, including dogs, cats, ferrets, livestock and horses. New York State law requires all dogs, cats and domesticated ferrets to be vaccinated against rabies. Keep domestic animals (dogs, cats, and ferrets) on a leash when outdoors and keep livestock confined in the evenings.

Do not touch or have contact with any animal other than your own.

Instruct your children to tell you immediately if they were bitten or scratched by any animal.

Individuals bitten or scratched by any animal should immediately contact their physicians or seek medical help at a hospital emergency room and then call the Nassau County Department of Health.

Do not feed wildlife or stray animals and discourage them from seeking food near your home by keeping garbage cans tightly covered and avoiding storing any food outside. Leaving food outside for domestic animals could also attract feral animals, including rabid raccoons.

Do not touch dying or dead animals. If you must move them, use a shovel, wear heavy rubber gloves and double bag the carcass.

Advise your family against approaching any unknown animal -- wild or domestic -- especially those acting in an unusual way.

If a bat is found in a room where individuals were sleeping, or if an adult enters a room and finds a bat with a child, notify the Nassau County Department of Health immediately. Do not release the bat.

Residents are reminded that nuisance wildlife that appears to be healthy or acting normally should be referred to a licensed wildlife trapper.

Rabies is a viral infection that is transmitted by the bite of a rabid animal. The virus may also be transmitted when the saliva of a rabid animal comes into contact with cut, open, or scratched skin lesions.

The rabies virus affects the nervous system of raccoons and other mammals, including humans. The disease is almost always fatal once clinical signs of infection occur. However, vaccination can greatly decrease the chance of developing rabies if administered soon after contact with potentially rabid animals.

In 2006, 17 raccoons were confirmed rabid. In 2005, 36 raccoons were confirmed rabid. In 2004, the first year terrestrial rabies was identified in the county, 10 raccoons were confirmed rabid.

For information regarding rabies visit the department website at www.nassaucountyny.gov/agencies/health/ or the state website at www.health.state.ny.us/diseases/communicable/zoonoses/rabies.