By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2024-12-19 22:50:50 | Updated at 2024-12-20 05:21:07
6 hours ago
Health officials said these two good Samaritans dropped a rabid cat off at a Yonkers animal hospital, and may now be infected.
Westchester Gov
They could be ticking timebombs.
Westchester County health officials are imploring a pair of good Samaritans who dropped a rabid cat off at a Yonkers animal hospital to come forward — because they could be infected with the fatal disease.
The anonymous pair was caught on surveillance video pulling off their good deed last week, but left without giving shelter workers their names — and could now face a lethal health hazard.
“Rabies is fatal, but it is also 100% preventable with post-exposure treatement,” county Health Commissioner Dr. Sherlita Amler said in a statement this week.
“If you see an injured or sick animal, call police,” Amler said. “Teach your children to not approach or handle animals they don’t know, even if they appear young, injured or friendly, and to tell you right away if they are bitten or scratched by any animal.”
But the cautionary advice comes too late for the Yonkers do-gooders, who county officials said were only trying to help the year-old feline after it was possibly struck by a car.
The cat, which was left at the Yonkers Animal Hospital on Saw Mill River Road shortly before 4:30 pm on Dec. 12, later tested positive for rabies, the health department said.
Security camera footage from the site showed a man wearing a red checkered jacket, khaki pants and a black hat, and a woman in a black jacket who carried the cat in a beige tote bag.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 60,000 people in the US receive medical treatment every year after exposure to rabig animals.
Rabies is a viral disease transmitted to humans by animals and can be fatal if untreated.
While there is no indication the Yonkers good Samaritans were infected, the county wants to make sure.
“Unusual behavior may be the first sign of rabies in an animal,” the county said in a press release. “A rabid animal may become either abnormally aggressive or unusually tame.
“It may lose fear of people and become excited and irritable, or appear particularly passive and lethargic,” the release said. “Staggering and frothing at the mouth are sometimes noted.”
