The State Hygienic Laboratory tested the animal on Tuesday. The animal had been exhibiting strange behavior when it was discovered at the Methodist Chruch on Church Street in White Sulphur Springs on Friday.

This most recent case makes the 42nd confirmed case of rabies in Greenbrier County this year.

Also this week, three other raccoons were submitted for testing to the health department with reports of rabid like behavior, including one from Caldwell that tore through a screen and got into someone's house. However, those raccoons tested negative for the virus.

Officials with the health department said rabies testing is important whenever there has been a potential exposure to a human or a domesticated animal. It is not needed in instances where that possibility can be ruled out. In the case of a bat being discovered in a room where someone has been sleeping, testing is always advised.

The Greenbrier County sanitarians would like to remind residents that some research indicates that as many as 80 percent of raccoons may have a natural immunity to the rabies virus. Keeping healthy raccoons alive may enhance the prospect of these animals passing this trait on to their offspring.