Raccoon carcass found in Melville tests positive for rabies

A raccoon carcass discovered outside a house in Melville has tested positive for rabies, officials confirmed.

It is believed to be the first recorded case of rabies on Long Island this year — after Nassau County saw 22 confirmed positive cases in 2025 and Suffolk 13, according to New York State Department of Health records.

The Town of Huntington said its animal control staff recovered the dead raccoon from outside a home on Cranberry Court near Costco this week and submitted it to the Suffolk County Health Department for testing, which confirmed the animal had been infected.

"A raccoon was found on the lawn of a residence in Melville earlier this week. When the deceased animal was tested, it was determined to be positive for terrestrial rabies. There were no exposures to pets or people," the health department told Newsday in a statement on Thursday.

Statistics from the state Health Department's Wadsworth Center, which tests animals, reported that 21 raccoons and one feral cat tested positive for rabies in Nassau last year. In Suffolk, nine raccoons tested positive last year, as did four bats.

"Rabies is a deadly disease caused by a virus that attacks the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord)," according to the state Department of Health's website. "Infected mammals can transmit rabies virus to humans and other mammals. Rabies almost always causes death once symptoms appear, but rabies can be prevented if treatment is given soon after exposure to a rabid animal."

To protect you and your animals, the Health Department advises people to not feed or touch wild animals, stray dogs or stray cats, and also notes state law prohibits keeping wild animals as pets. The department also advises residents to not allow pets to roam outside unattended; to tightly cap garbage cans; to secure feed and grain to prevent attracting animals to your property; and to vaccinate pets against rabies. If you find so-called "nuisance wild animals" in your home or on your property, contact an appropriate wildlife or animal control agency.

Before the resurgence of rabies cases last year on Long Island, state officials said Nassau had seen just one case since 2007 — in a raccoon in 2016 — while a 2017 case involving a feral cat had been the only one in Suffolk since 2009.

As a result of the positive test this week, Huntington officials said the town is coordinating with animal shelters to monitor any potential cases or exposures.

"Signs include disorientation, unprovoked aggression, and paralysis. Any suspected cases will be handled in accordance with public health protocols," the town said in an alert to residents, noting potential rabies "vector species" include raccoons, skunks, foxes, bats and feral cats, though but any mammal can become infected.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a Newsday reporter since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press, Society of the Silurians and National Headliner Awards for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing. He is the author of “Swee'pea,” about New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. His debut crime novel, “For Nothing Is Hidden,” rooted in 1950s Long Island, was released in October 2025.