Last Updated on August 29, 2026 7:46 am
State health officials have confirmed multiple rabies cases in baby goats at a mobile petting zoo, and AppHealthCare — the health department serving Alleghany, Ashe and Watauga counties — is urging anyone who may have had contact with the animals to seek medical guidance.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services says several goats at Farm Adventures, a mobile petting zoo based in Harmony, N.C. (Iredell County), have tested positive for rabies at the North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health. The goats may have been in direct contact with people while infectious, both at the Harmony location and at off-site events held in multiple counties involving children and elderly individuals between July 28 and Aug. 27.
Anyone who had contact with baby goats from Farm Adventures during that window, at any location, should contact their local health department to determine whether medication is needed to prevent infection.
State officials say organizers of the off-site events are being notified, and the investigation is ongoing; additional information about potential exposure locations will be released as it becomes available. It has not yet been confirmed whether any of the off-site events took place within AppHealthCare's three-county coverage area, but the district is sharing the alert as a precaution while that information is finalized.
Rabies spreads from infected animals to pets and people primarily through a bite, scratch, or when infected saliva contacts broken skin or mucous membranes. Human rabies cases are extremely rare in the U.S., and no human cases have been reported in North Carolina since 2011 — but the disease is almost always fatal once symptoms appear unless preventive medication is given beforehand. Symptoms can take weeks to months to develop and typically begin with flu-like illness — weakness, fever, or headache — along with a prickling or itching sensation at the exposure site.
In 2025, more than 4,000 animals were submitted to the state lab for rabies testing, with about 6% testing positive. In North Carolina, the disease occurs most often in wild animals, especially skunks, raccoons, bats and foxes.
More information is available on the NCDHHS rabies webpage. Questions can also be directed to AppHealthCare at (828) 264-4995.
