From the Washington Post
As many as 150 people, including dozens of elementary school students, might have come in contact with a rabid calf at an Accokeek farm, and state and local health officials are urging anyone who visited the farm in the past month to call them for medical advice.
The incident could have deadly consequences. Anyone who demonstrates symptoms of rabies, including headaches and nervous system problems, is likely to die, said Donald Shell, the health officer for Prince George's County.
Because early treatment can be effective, officials were trying over the weekend to identify and contact everyone who visited the Hard Bargain Farm in Accokeek between Dec. 21 and Tuesday, when the infected calf was on display, he said.
Health officials said those who might have had contact with the calf include farmworkers, students from Berry Elementary School in Waldorf and Samuel Chase Elementary School in Temple Hills, and a tour group from the Student Conservation Association in Arlington County.
Rabies is not airborne and is generally not transmitted between people, Shell said. The virus could have been transferred from someone who touched the calf's saliva and then his or her mouth, and Hard Bargain Farm runs an overnight program that allows participants to touch and feed the animals.
Shell said that a farm manager noticed that the calf was sick Tuesday and isolated it. He said that officials think a rabid raccoon infected the calf sometime in the past month.
Anyone who might have been exposed to the calf, which was tan with tiny white spots, is asked to call the Prince George's Health Department at 240-508-5774 or the Charles County Health Department at 240-216-4055 or 240-299-2693.
