Catawba County Public Health is asking anyone who attended a mobile petting zoo event on August 9, 2026, in Burke County (Miller Mills Road, Hickory) to get in touch if they touched, held, or fed the goats there. Several goats from that petting zoo have since tested positive for rabies.
The notification came from the NC Department of Health and Human Services on Friday, August 28. As of that afternoon, no Catawba County locations had been identified in the investigation, but because the event was so close to home, county officials say Catawba County residents may have been there too.
Rabies spreads through an infected animal’s saliva. If you had contact with the goats at that event, call the Communicable Disease Nurses at (828) 695-5769. Catawba County Public Health Director Jennifer McCracken noted that rabies almost always becomes fatal once symptoms appear, so anyone with potential exposure should be evaluated for rabies prophylaxis.
Officials stress this was a single, private event, so there’s no broader public risk here in the county. The investigation is ongoing, and more locations could still be identified.
Source: Catawba County Government news release, published August 28, 2026.