North Carolina health officials are warning people who touched baby goats from Farm Adventures to contact their local health department after several goats associated with the mobile petting zoo tested positive for rabies. The alert covers contacts at the business's Harmony location and appearances elsewhere.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said Farm Adventures is based in Harmony, North Carolina. The mobile petting zoo attended events across multiple counties during the period covered by the warning.

Anyone who had contact with the baby goats between July 28 and Aug. 27 should reach out to a local health department, according to NCDHHS. Officials said health departments can determine whether medication is needed to prevent infection.

The warning applies to people who encountered the goats at the Farm Adventures location in Harmony or at an off site event. State officials said the infected baby goats may have had direct contact with people while they were infectious.

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During the potential exposure period, Farm Adventures brought animals to events involving children and elderly individuals across multiple counties, NCDHHS said. Organizers of those events are being notified as health officials continue their investigation.

The agency said the investigation remains ongoing. Additional information about possible exposure locations will be released when it becomes available.

Farm Adventures said in a Facebook statement that four of its baby goats had contracted rabies. The business identified the goats as Molly, Maggie, Cow and Uno and said they were euthanized to prevent further spread.

"We are working closely with public health officials, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, and animal control to address this issue and ensure the safety of our animals and clients," Farm Adventures said.

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According to Farm Adventures, the four baby goats had been kept in a separate pen away from the petting zoo's other animals. The business said the goats were too young to receive their vaccinations when a skunk entered their pen.

The skunk was removed, but Farm Adventures said it did not know that the goats had been bitten. The animals did not initially display indications that alerted the petting zoo to the infection.

"They showed no sign or symptoms of rabies," Farm Adventures said.

Farm Adventures said its veterinarian investigated what was happening before one of the animals was sent for a necropsy. State health officials later said several goats tested positive for rabies at the North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health.

The positive results led to the public warning for visitors who may have handled or otherwise encountered the goats during the identified period. Farm Adventures also described the emotional toll of the situation in its public statement.

"These past few days have been incredibly difficult for us," Farm Adventures said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, rabies is a viral disease that is deadly if people do not receive medical care before symptoms begin. The virus primarily spreads when an infected animal bites or scratches a person.

Bats, skunks, raccoons and foxes are the animals most frequently found with rabies in the U.S., according to the CDC. The agency said roughly 100,000 Americans receive rabies vaccinations following a potential exposure each year.

Despite the number of people vaccinated after possible encounters, human rabies infections are extremely rare in the U.S. NCDHHS said no human cases have been reported in North Carolina since 2011.

For now, officials are directing anyone who had contact with Farm Adventures baby goats from July 28 through Aug. 27 to speak with a local health department. That guidance applies whether the contact occurred in Harmony or during one of the mobile petting zoo's off site events.