Lake Co. health department seeks girls who found wild mink

Lake County Health Department officials are searching for two teenage girls who found a wild mink in the Spring Grove area to determine if they need rabies shots.

The girls took the mink to an animal hospital last week where it died shortly thereafter.

Health department spokeswoman Tiffany Bronk said Monday the results of a rabies test conducted on the dead animal at a state laboratory were inconclusive.

"The animal's brain was not good enough to get conclusive results, so that's why we are still looking to talk to the girls," Bronk said.

The girls or their guardians should call the health department's communicable disease program at (847) 377-8130.

Bronk said the department has to determine if the girls, thought to be about 13 to 14 years old, need post-exposure rabies prophylaxis.

Minks are considered to be at a medium risk for rabies. Lake County has not had a rabid mink case since the 1980s.

Rabies is an almost-always fatal disease that affects the nervous system of humans and other mammals. Yet, the disease is fully preventable with prophylaxis.

Most commonly, people get rabies from the bite of a rabid animal or its saliva, which comes in contact with one's nose, mouth or an open wound or gets directly into the eyes.

The health department is urging Lake County residents to avoid direct contact with wild animals.