COLUMBUS- A Polk County horse farm was ordered to be quarantined on Friday, Aug. 25 following a positive rabies case of a horse earlier this month.

On Aug. 9, the Polk County Health Department was notified by the N.C. State Lab of Public Health of a positive rabies report of an equine in the area.

On Friday, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, out of Raleigh, ordered that Terceira Farm, located at the corner of Red Fox Road and Hamilton Drive in the Columbus area, be quarantined.

There are four horses in the pasture there, according to Polk County Animal Cruelty Investigator Patti Lovelace.

The quarantine was issued for 45 days, Lovelace said.

Local authorities at the time of the reported case said any person bitten or exposed to potentially infectious saliva from an equine in this area should contact their healthcare provider or the local health department for a rabies risk assessment.

Rabies is a fatal, yet preventable disease if post exposure prophylaxis (PEP) is administered.

This is the first case of rabies in quite some time in Polk County and the first case of rabies of an equine reported in recent history. The most recent cases of rabies involved fox and skunk.

A rabies clinic was held on Aug. 23 in response to the equine case.

Anyone that sees an animal demonstrating unusual behavior is urged to call the Polk County Animal Control Office at 828-894-3001.