WPRO Newsroom and the Associated Press
COVENTRY, R.I. (AP) – Eighteen people are now being treated for possible rabies exposure after coming into contact with a baby raccoon in Coventry that later tested positive for the disease.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Environmental Management says 16 people from Rhode Island and two from Connecticut are being treated. Four are under 18.
The department says the animal was picked up May 29 on John Franklin Road, near the Scituate line. It was uninjured, but the family that found it brought it home and inside.
Rabies is a viral disease that infects the central nervous system and is fatal if left untreated. Humans can be exposed through a bite, scratch or other direct contact with an infected animal.
Human treatment is effective if it's done soon after exposure.
