According to federal and state health officials, a new strain of rabies has been discovered by scientists in southern New Mexico. The discovery is considered important in the scientific circles since it’s the first new strain that has been found in the United States in several years.

According to state public health veterinarian Paul Ettestad, the discovery has led to excitement among scientists and it is linked to another bat strain; it’s similar but still one of its kind, therefore the question is what the reservoir for this strain is.

When it comes to reservoir, it is actually animals that host the virus. These animals could be bats, skunks or raccoons in most of the cases. It is thought that these animals have regular strains of rabies so generally, they are not tested.

Ettestad said tests are conducted when it appears in other animals, together with dogs, cats, horses and foxes. In April, a 78-year-old Lincoln County woman was bitten by a rabid fox. It was confirmed in genetic testing at a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lab in Atlanta that the strain was one that was never identified before.

State officials think that the rabid fox was affected after coming in contact with an infected bat that was carrying the strain. Ettestad said, “It has probably been out there for some time. We just haven’t looked that hard for it and by chance we found it”.

Since 2007, New Mexico health and wildlife officials have been tracking rabies in the fox population. During that time, a separate strain discovered in Arizona gray foxes entered New Mexico.