The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has confirmed that a Polk County horse has died of rabies. The horse was a 25-year-old, unvaccinated Halflinger that showed a quick onset of clinical signs. The horse was isolated and died shortly afterward.

This article was created with information from the Equine Disease Communication Center (EDCC). The EDCC works to protect horses and the horse industry from the threat of infectious diseases in North America. The communication system is designed to seek and report real time information about disease outbreaks similar to how the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) alerts the human population about diseases in people.