Health Department says false rabies remains a mystery

The Iowa Department of Public Health is still trying to determine what ledto a false positive in a rabies test for a bear at a petting zoo nearClermont in northeastern Iowa. The bear’s death caused an internationalsearch for people who may’ve been exposed. Dozens got painful rabies shotsas a precaution.Kevin Teale is the spokesman for the Health Department. He says they arereviewing the whole process, but says there may not be an answer.He says the failed test won’t impact how the department reacts if the samething happens again. Teale says rabies is a deadly disease that has to betaken seriously. Teale says state officials hope the public will not usethis incident to discredit any future warnings.New tests confirmed the bear did NOT have rabies.