New Hampshire health officials are asking for the public’s help locating a Massachusetts man who helped rescued a baby raccoon later determined to have had rabies.
Officials said the man came in contact with the raccoon in Conway, New Hampshire, on Sept. 20. The man stopped on Route 16 around 5 p.m. to help remove two baby raccoons from the roadway, which were later brought to a wildlife rehabilitation center.
One raccoon died and was identified to have rabies, authorities said.
The man is described as being in his 30s with a medium build, approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall, with very short or shaved light-colored hair.
He had tattoos on his arms and was wearing a dark t-shirt and jeans. Officials said the man was driving a large, dark-colored pickup truck with oversized tires and Massachusetts license plates.
“We would like this individual to contact us so that we can assess his risk for acquiring rabies while handling the baby raccoon and to help determine whether he might need treatment to prevent rabies,” New Hampshire State Epidemiologist Dr. Benjamin Chan said in a statement. “Rabies is a fatal illness that is transmitted through direct contact with the saliva of an infected animal, but administering rabies vaccine and immune globulin after an exposure can prevent disease.”
The man is being asked to call the New Hampshire Division of Public Health Services’ Bureau of Infectious Disease Control at 603-271-4496.
The rabies virus is transmitted through direct contact with saliva from an infected animal, which can occur through a bite, scratch, broken skin or mucous membrane exposure.