10/01/2026
🚨Positive rabies case in Stuart.🚨
🚨🦝 RACCOON TESTS POSITIVE FOR RABIES IN STUART — 60-DAY ALERT ISSUED
Martin County residents, please be careful around wildlife. A raccoon captured **off South Kanner Highway on Sunday, September 27, tested positive for rabies, prompting the Florida Department of Health in Martin County to issue a 60-day rabies alert on September 30.
The reported alert area is bounded by SE Tressler Drive to the south, SE Federal Highway to the east and South Kanner Highway to the west. Officials are monitoring wildlife in the area. The available reports describe the raccoon’s capture location but do not explain who initially found it or what behavior led to its capture.
**What signs should you look for?**
⚠️ Unusual behavior or sudden aggression
⚠️ Stumbling, poor coordination or appearing disoriented
⚠️ Extreme weakness, unusual sluggishness or paralysis
⚠️ Excessive drooling or difficulty swallowing
⚠️ Seizures
These signs can also occur with other illnesses, so **you cannot diagnose rabies by looking at an animal**. An infected animal may even appear healthy or unusually friendly. Keep your distance and call Animal Control instead of trying to catch or help it yourself.
**If you are bitten or scratched:** Wash the wound immediately with soap and running water for **15 minutes**, seek urgent medical care and report the exposure. **Do not wait for symptoms.** Prompt treatment can prevent rabies; once symptoms develop, the disease is nearly always fatal.
📞 **DOH-Martin:** 772-221-4000
📞 **Martin County Animal Control:** 772-463-3211
If your pet has contact with a suspected rabid animal, contact your veterinarian immediately. Supervise pets outdoors and avoid leaving food outside that attracts wildlife.
Please remind children to never approach, feed or touch an unfamiliar animal—even one that seems tame or needs help. Share this with your neighbors so our community knows what to watch for. 🐾
