article_snippet: The septuagenarian was taken to the hospital after the Saturday incident on one of the Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens backroads, and has received multiple preventative vaccines for rabies since.
article_snippet: Tests later confirmed that the rabid animal carried the disease, according to ABC8.
article_snippet: Raccoons are the leading carrier of rabies in the eastern United States, with roughly 35 per cent of all animal rabies cases occurring in the species (file photo)
article_snippet: The Humane Society says that raccoons suffer most from rabies in the eastern US, making up more than a third of all animals rabies cases.
article_snippet: Both raccoons and skunks, another common rabies carrier, are nocturnal.
article_snippet: Pets such as dogs are particularly vulnerable to rabies, which is a nervous system disease only transmitted by saliva.
article_snippet: Animal owners are urged to vaccinate Animal owners pets to stop the spread of the disease in the event of a wild animal attack.