LETTER TO RESIDENTS FROM THE ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH OFFICE
Date: August 25, 2025
Take Precautions to Keep our Community Safe
Recently, a skunk in the area of Wilkinson Road and Cedar Ridge Road tested positive for rabies. The rabies virus does exist in Franklin County wildlife and can be transmitted to domestic animals and humans. Rabies in humans is essentially 100% fatal if not treated within a certain time prior to the onset of symptoms. If you know of any person or domestic animal that had any contact with this skunk or had the potential to contact it, please call the Franklin County Environmental Health Office immediately at (706)-384-5575 Ext. 4.
The following are symptoms of rabies that you should watch for in any domestic animal:
- Animal stops eating or drinking
- Animal becomes unusually vicious towards owners or others
- Animal walks with a sluggish gait or even sideways
- Animal constantly slobbers from the mouth
- Animal displays strange or unexplainable behavior
If you suspect that YOU or YOUR ANIMAL(S) have been in contact with this or any rabid animal, or you notice your pet or domestic animal displaying any symptom of rabies, avoid contact with the animal and confine it, then call the Franklin County Environmental Health Office at (706)-384-5575 Ext. 4. If you have had contact with any rabid or suspected rabid animal, please contact your physician immediately to discuss whether treatment is necessary.
Contact:
Franklin County Environmental Health Manager
Allison Nelson
Allison.Nelson@dph.ga.gov
PH: 706-384-5575 Ext. 4
Public Information Officer
Christina Joseph,
Christina.Joseph@dph.ga.gov
PH: 770-851-4388