‘Ill-acting’ skunk tests positive for rabies

GRAPEVINE, Texas — Here is another reason to avoid a skunk.

Officials with the Texas Department of State Health Services on Wednesday said that an “ill-acting” skunk that was found in the Dallas suburb of Grapevine tested positive for rabies, The Dallas Morning News reported.

The animal was found near North Park Boulevard and Redwood Trail in Grapevine, according to the newspaper.

‘Ill-acting’ skunk found in Grapevine tests positive for rabies https://t.co/Rp63LzaRAp
— Dallas Morning News (@dallasnews) January 23, 2024

Tests conducted by the Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed the skunk had contracted the viral disease.

No residents were exposed to the skunk, Animal Service officials told KTVT.

Rabies is most often spread through an animal bite and more than 90% of reported cases occur in wildlife, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Any mammal can get rabies, but the CDC said skunks, bats, raccoons and foxes make up the vast majority of infections, the Morning News reported.