Rabies alerts — Sebastian, Florida

Yes: a countywide rabies alert covering Sebastian and all of Indian River County runs from September 24, 2026 to November 24, 2026, according to the Florida Department of Health in Indian River County.

The alert appears as a banner on the DOH-Indian River Rabies Surveillance page, which on October 11, 2026 read Rabies Alert Issued for Indian River County, Effective September 24, 2026 to November 24, 2026. Because the notice names the whole county rather than a few streets, it takes in Sebastian along with the rest of Indian River County.

The alert dates come from the Indian River County health department’s own page. The banner on the DOH-Indian River home page links to the department’s announcement, which is published only as a PDF press release and is not summarized here, so the animal and location behind the 2026 alert are not repeated on this page; the banner is the HTML public notice for Sebastian residents.

DOH-Indian River has issued rabies alerts after animals in the county tested positive, set the 2015, 2018 and 2021 alerts for 60 days, and has drawn boundaries either around named Indian River County roads or, in 2026, around the whole county.

Each of the 2015, 2018 and 2021 Indian River County alerts followed an animal that tested positive for rabies and was set for 60 days. The June 3, 2021 release opens by saying this rabies alert is for 60 days and lists its boundaries as a set of roads and shorelines. The 2018 alert republished by the Vero Beach Police Department uses the same 60-day format, and the 2015 joint alert says it will remain in effect for 60 days for a defined area (DOH-Indian River, 2015).

Alerts also set a look-back window. The 2021 release asked anyone bitten or scratched by a raccoon or outdoor domestic cat in the previous two weeks in the geographic boundary of the rabies alert to contact DOH-Indian River, and the 2018 notice used the same two-week window for the animal it described.

The department is explicit that an alert map is not a safety map. Both the 2021 Indian River County release and the 2018 notice state that alerts are designed to increase awareness, but they should not give a false sense of security to areas that have not been named as under an alert.

Responsibility is shared. The 2021 release states that local animal control agencies in Indian River County coordinate the exposure investigation with the Florida Department of Health in Indian River County, which is why alert notices list both the department’s number and the animal control numbers for the county and for Vero Beach.

Of the earlier alerts on official HTML pages, the nearest to Sebastian covered the barrier island south of Wabasso Road in June 2021; the 2018 and 2015 alerts lay farther south, and the 2026 alert covers the whole county.

The 2021 alert is the one that came nearest Sebastian. The DOH-Indian River release drew it on the barrier island south of State Road 510, also known as Wabasso Road, and north of Round Island Park, west of the Atlantic Ocean and east of the Indian River Lagoon. The trigger was a raccoon that tested positive for rabies on June 2, 2021.

The 2018 alert lay farther south. The Vero Beach Police Department posting lists boundaries south of State Route 60, also known as 20th Street, north of Oslo Road, east of 66th Avenue and west of US Highway 1, after a stray cat tested positive on May 15, 2018. The 2015 alert was further south still, shared with St. Lucie County after a raccoon tested positive on June 19, 2015 (DOH-Indian River).

Raccoons and a stray cat account for the earlier Indian River County alerts on official HTML pages, and the department names raccoons, bats and foxes as the main wildlife sources of rabies in Florida.

The DOH-Indian River Rabies Surveillance page states that the main wildlife sources of rabies in Florida are raccoons, bats, and foxes, and that cats, especially those that spend time outdoors, are by far the most common domestic animal found to have rabies in Florida largely because they are often not kept up-to-date on rabies vaccinations. The statewide Florida Department of Health rabies page names raccoons and bats as the main wildlife sources.

The Indian River County record on official HTML pages shows raccoons in 2015 and 2021 and a stray cat in 2018. The 2021 release listed the wildlife the public should avoid as raccoons, bats, foxes, skunks, otters, bobcats, and coyotes (DOH-Indian River).

The Indian River County Animal Control page states that county ordinance requires a current rabies vaccination and a county license for every dog and cat, and those rules are covered on a separate Sebastian animal control page; the rabies page itself notes that dogs, cats and ferrets are required by law to be vaccinated against rabies in Florida (DOH-Indian River).

Sebastian residents report animal bites to DOH-Indian River at 772-794-7472 and report the animal to Indian River County Animal Control at (772) 226-4799.

The DOH-Indian River home page states that for information about rabies or to report an animal bite, call 772-794-7472. The same number is listed for the department’s Epidemiology program on the Rabies Surveillance page, with fax 772-794-7482. The department’s main line is 772-794-7400.

Animal reports from Sebastian go to the county. The Indian River County Animal Control page lists the office at 4305 43rd Ave # B, Vero Beach FL 32967, phone (772) 226-4799, and directs complaints for all locations within Vero Beach city limits to the Vero Beach Police Department at 772-978-4600. The county page directs complaints for locations within Indian River County, including Sebastian and Fellsmere, but excluding Vero Beach city limits, to the county Animal Control complaint form. The same page lists the FWC contacts used for nuisance wildlife and other non-domestic animals in Indian River County.

Last verified: October 11, 2026, on the DOH-Indian River website.

The state’s 2026 list of rabies press releases includes Brevard County on September 2 and Martin County on September 30, so alerts outside Indian River County are posted on a separate state page.

The Florida Department of Health rabies page keeps a list of press releases by county. Its 2026 list begins Martin 9/30, Clay 9/30, Marion 9/18, Jackson 9/17, Hillsborough 9/14, Brevard 9/2, showing that Brevard and Martin counties both had rabies notices in September 2026. The Brevard and Martin releases are posted only as PDF files, so their boundaries are not repeated here, and the 2026 list does not include an Indian River County entry.

Cross-county alerts have happened before. The 2015 notice was a joint rabies alert for southern Indian River County and northern St. Lucie County, and the 2015 release notes that earlier that month the St. Lucie County health department had issued a separate alert after a cat tested positive on June 2. The 2021 Indian River County release states that all residents of the county should be aware that rabies is present in the wild animal population and domestic animals are at risk if not vaccinated (DOH-Indian River, 2021).