CHARLOTTE — Rabies has turned up in surprising places this year, including Ballantyne and Huntersville, according to data Friday from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Animal Care & Control.
The department released updated figures after two people in Ballantyne were exposed to a bat later confirmed to have the potentially fatal viral disease, officials said in a news release.
Officials sent an alert Wednesday night to residents near the 14200 block of Ballantyne Lake Road. No pets were exposed, according to the department.
Anyone with questions about potential exposure should call Communicable Disease at (980) 314-9201. Our partner The Charlotte Observer noted Animal Care & Control has also scheduled a free drive-thru rabies vaccine clinic for Mecklenburg residents from 8 to 10:45 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 12, at 2725 Beam Road in Charlotte. The clinic is for pets only, and one-year rabies vaccines will be administered.
So far, there have been eight Mecklenburg rabies cases in 2026.
The county had 11 cases in 2025 and 14 cases in 2024, including 10 raccoons, a cow, a bat, a cat, and a fox.
Human rabies infections in the U.S. “are extremely rare,” and none have been reported in North Carolina since 2011, according to NCDHHS.
In 2025, the state tested at least 4,000 animals for rabies, and about 6% tested positive, officials said. Most were in skunks, raccoons, bats and foxes.
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