Miami

Rabies Alert Issued Again for Kendall After 7th Raccoon Tests Positive

Man who was bitten by otter speaks

Just over a day after a rabies alert was lifted in Kendall, the Florida Department of Health in Miami-Dade once again issued an alert for the area after it was confirmed a seventh raccoon tested positive for rabies.

The rabies alert issued Wednesday will last for 60 days, until Jan. 19, and includes the area from Southwest 152nd Street to the north, Southwest 187th Street to the south, Southwest 117th Avenue to the east and Southwest 137th Avenue to the west.

The Department of Health also received confirmation of an otter that tested positive for rabies, bit a human and later died. It's the ninth confirmed rabid animal and the first rabid otter identified in Miami-Dade for 2018.

David McDonald, 89, says he was taking trash to his garbage can Tuesday night when he was bitten by the otter.

"It bit me on the right foot. I kicked it off, it didn’t go very far, a couple feet, because it was hanging on to my foot," said McDonald, who lives across the street from the Deering Estate in Palmetto Bay.

A second alert remains in effect until Jan. 15 and includes the area from Southwest 144th Street to the north, Southwest 184th Street to the south, Biscayne Bay to the east and US 1 to the west.

Rabies is a nervous system disease that can be fatal in humans and warm-blooded animals, with the only treatment for human exposure being a specific immunization.

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