Raccoon with rabies scratches Manorville resident
A racoon on a St. James roof in 2009. Western Suffolk has had 31 confirmed rabies cases among land animals since February 2025. Credit: Newsday/James Carbone
A Manorville resident is being treated for possible rabies exposure after being scratched by a raccoon that tested positive for the disease, according to Suffolk County Department of Health Services officials.
The person, who has not been identified, "made contact with a raccoon on their property," after which the animal was picked up by the agency and tested for the virus at a state lab, according to a department news release sent Friday. A spokeswoman in a phone interview confirmed the raccoon scratched the person.
The department did not say when the scratch took place, but the spokeswoman confirmed it received the positive test results Friday.
Health department employees believe the animal was relocated to the area, possibly by someone else, according to the release. That suspicion stems from the fact that rabies cases are typically only identified further west on Long Island, an agency spokeswoman confirmed to Newsday.
The raccoon was the 31st land mammal found to have rabies on Long Island since February 2025, according to the department. The other infected animals were located in the western portion of Suffolk County.
There had been only six rabid raccoons discovered in Suffolk County by this time last year, Newsday previously reported. Each was in the Amityville area, roughly 40 miles west of Manorville.
Newsday also reported that Nassau County declared rabies an "imminent public health threat" last July after 25 rabid animals had been identified there within a 12-month period.
Anyone who may have handled the Manorville raccoon should contact the Suffolk County Health Department because "the exposure could be a significant risk to their health," the agency wrote in its Friday news release.
Rabies is fatal in humans if left untreated, but the infection can be prevented if caught before symptoms appear. Treatment includes a series of vaccination shots, as well as a "fast-acting" shot to prevent the virus from taking hold after exposure, according to the Mayo Clinic.
"Residents are reminded not to touch, or transport, wild animals," the county health department wrote. Those who see "abnormally acting raccoons" are asked to call the Suffolk County Police Department's non-emergency line at 631-852-COPS, or the state Department of Environmental Conservation at 631-444-0250.
Sam Kmack covers the Town of Islip for Newsday. He is a graduate of the University of Southern California and previously worked as a city watchdog reporter in the Phoenix metro area, as well as an investigative journalist at the Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting.
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