Campus Alert

Larimer County Health Officials Warn of Rabid Skunks

May-June 2012

June 10
Fourteen skunks and five bats confirmed by health department to have rabies in Larimer County

More skunks have been tested and confirmed positive for rabies bringing the total number of confirmed to 14, according to The Larimer County Department of Health and Environment. There have also been five bats who have tested positive for rabies over the past two weeks. More information, including safety tips regarding rabies, is available at http://www.larimer.org/health/ehs/rabies.htm. 

May 31
Rabies confirmed in 5th skunk in Fort Collins area, county provides new rabies map on web

On May 24, the Larimer County Department of Health and Environment announced that two more skunks have tested positive for rabies, bringing the total to five rabid skunks found close to Fort Collins neighborhoods in the past two weeks. 

The fourth skunk was chased from a poultry enclosure of a private home near Taft Hill and Vine Drive and found dead the next morning. The fifth skunk was seen out in daylight and walking in circles in a neighborhood near Horsetooth and Taft Hill Roads.   

The five skunks are the first of what will likely be numerous skunks, and possibly other animals, infected with skunk variant of rabies. The Health Department has posted a map that shows where skunks and bats that have tested positive for rabies have been found since early May at http://larimer.org/maps/rabies.cfm. The health department will update it after positive confirmations are made. Other information about rabies in the county is available at http://larimer.org/health/ehs/rabies.htm.

May 15
Rabid skunks found in in Foothills Area

The Larimer County Department of Health and Environment have confirmed that three skunks in the city have tested positive to rabies, presenting a health risk to horses, domestic pets and potentially people. Two more skunks were confirmed to have rabies on Friday, one found in an area near the entrance to the Fort Collins Country Club, and the other approximately 2 miles due north of the first, along the foothills. [more information]