Negative Results for Additional Kittens

Update 5:17 p.m.

Lab results are back for the additional kittens tested for rabies.

"We just got them this afternoon," Ray King, district director of environmental health for the North Georgia Health District. "They were negative." 

Original report 2:15 p.m.

The rabid kitten that lingered around the Riverstone Parkway  was just one in a colony of feral cats living in the woods of Canton, health officials now say.

Since Cherokee County Environmental Health authorities , at least four more cats have been tested, according to a report on WSB-TV.

Another remains in quarantine. 

It's not clear when the lab results will come back. Attempts to reach North Georgia Health District spokeswoman Jennifer King have been unsuccessful.

Seven people, including a veterinarian, were bitten by the infected gray-striped kitten.

A young woman who works at a Canton veterinary office picked it up on March 1 at the Riverstone Starbucks, where it had been touched by a number of people.

She took the kitten to her Canton home and several more people were exposed to it, King said.

Nearly two Fridays ago, the woman took the kitten to work. A battery of tests suggested the kitten was in seemingly good health. But by 1 p.m. March 4, the kitten was dead.

The veterinarian at the woman's office had taken it to her Lumpkin County home the previous day and been bitten twice. The kitten, King said at the time, was frightened by the vet's dogs.

Cherokee Environmental Health officials learned of the positive rabies test results on Wednesday from the Georgia Public Health Lab. It was also revealed that a raccoon attacked a package delivery driver carrier in the same area approximately two months ago. The raccoon's status is not known and the case is under investigation.

Individuals treated for rabies receive an immediate dose of immunoglobulin and undergo a series of rabies shots over a period of 14 days.

FAST FACTS

For more rabies prevention information, call the Cherokee County Environmental Health Office at 770-479-0444. Click here for additional information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.