South Carolina cow tests positive for rabies, 4 people exposed

Updated: Feb 4, 2024 / 12:42 PM CST

FILE- A line of Holstein dairy cows feed through a fence at a dairy farm outside Jerome, Idaho, on March 11, 2009. A California man is going to prison for running a cow pat-to-green energy scheme that authorities say was a load of manure. Ray Brewer of Porterville was sentenced Tuesday, June 27, 2023, to six years and nine months in federal prison for a scam that bilked investors out of nearly $9 million. (AP Photo/Charlie Litchfield, File)

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — A cow in Prosperity, South Carolina, recently tested positive for rabies, and four people exposed to the animal have been referred to medical facilities as a precaution, state health officials said.

The state Department of Health and Environmental Control on Friday said 11 other cows may have been in contact with the sick animal. An agency veterinarian is working with Clemson University Livestock and Poultry and Health to determine “appropriate safety response efforts,” DHEC said in a news release.

The cow was submitted to DHEC’s laboratory for testing on Wednesday and was confirmed to have rabies the next day.

State law requires all dogs, cats and ferrets to be vaccinated against rabies.

“Keeping your pets and livestock current on their rabies vaccination is a responsibility that comes with owning an animal,” DHEC Rabies Program director Terri McCollister said.

The Prosperity cow is the first animal in Saluda County to test positive for rabies this year, bringing the statewide total to seven. Since 2002, South Carolina has averaged 148 rabies cases annually.