Officials have shut down the swimming area at Maryland’s Cunningham Falls State Park after a rabid beaver bit a teenager there.
The teenager, unnamed by officials, was bitten about 9 a.m. Sunday, the Frederick County Health Department said.
On Monday, the Maryland Department of Health confirmed that the euthanized beaver tested positive for rabies.
The victim, a 13-year-old boy, was flown to Johns Hopkins Hospital with injuries to his hands and chest, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, which administers the state park, said, according to The Baltimore Sun.
State wildlife officials have shut down the swimming area at Cunningham Falls State Park while they search for other rabid beavers, Frederick County health officials said.
People who contract rabies from an infected animal and don’t receive “prompt post-exposure treatment” are a threat to die, Frederick County health officials said. The search is expected to take multiple days.
