Pair May Have Been Infected by Rabies

Health officials are trying to find a man and woman who may have contracted rabies, a potentially fatal disease, from an injured raccoon that they delivered to a Manhattan animal shelter last week.

The animal's infection was detected when it was euthanized several days after it arrived at the Manhattan Animal Care and Control Shelter on February 23, Health Department officials said.

The raccoon is the first animal to test positive for rabies in Manhattan this year, officials said. In 2006, a bat tested positive for rabies.

There has not been a case of human rabies in New York City for more than 50 years, officials said.