BEAUFORT COUNTY, S.C. () — Beaufort County Animal Services recently posted on social media, warning residents and their pets of a recent threat of rabies and distemper disease. Both diseases can be deadly, but pet owners can take the proper precautions.

Beaufort County Animal Services (BCAS) sent out the social media post this week after recent threats of outbreaks in the county.

“Due to recent threats of distemper and rabies outbreaks in our county, it’s crucial that all pet owners ensure their animals are properly vaccinated against both of these dangerous diseases,” the BCAS social media post read.

Distemper, one of the potentially deadly diseases, is “highly contagious among animals and can spread rapidly between wildlife and pets,” according to the BCAS social media post.

“Rabies is a zoonotic disease, which means it can be transmitted to humans and is nearly always fatal once symptoms appear,” the post continued.

Kirstyn Northropp-Cobb of Raskel’s Rescue said she wasn’t aware of any recent reports in Jasper County but has heard of several instances in the Lowcountry area.

“Rabies is always a threat whenever there’s wildlife or just any sort of mammal interaction,” said Cobb.

Though the disease may be thought of as rare, animal officials said that’s not the case in our heavy wildlife environment.

“I wish it was,” said Cobb. “But we’re still seeing, I think they saw 120 cases in Beaufort County last year alone.  So, it’s definitely still out there and definitely something we should be paying attention to.”

Officials said rabies are more common than distemper and is carried by wild animals like bats, raccoons, and foxes. However, officials said it’s also been seen in cases of stray cats and dogs.

Domesticated pets are a rarer case.

“We only see it if the animals haven’t been vaccinated, but you definitely see it in wildlife from time to time. Now, that being said, I don’t want you to panic about wildlife,” said Cobb. “If you see animals out in the daylight, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they have rabies. It usually just means that they’re out trying to find food. So, let’s not panic, but also let’s not handle wildlife.”

Officials said if your pet or animal has been bitten by a possible rabid or distempered animal, go to the vet immediately.

They said rabies specifically takes around six months to enter an animal’s system and no noticeable symptoms usually show until then, but once they do, death unfortunately follows within/around 10 days.

“Fortunately, there’s a vaccine for it, so it’s best to definitely keep your animals vaccinated,” said Cobb. “There’s going to be a quarantine period.  By law, you have to quarantine for six months if they are not vaccinated and they’ve had or they’ve gotten bit.  If they are vaccinated and they get bit, there’s still a ten-day quarantine.”

Animal officials said if you notice a rabid or distempered animal, or your pet has been bitten, you need to report it to the health department, as well as the Department of Natural Resources.