GREAT FALLS, Mont. – The state of Montana is seeing nearly as many confirmed rabies cases in the past three months as in the entire previous fiscal year.

From July through September, 23 animals tested positive for the virus. Over the last decade, more than 140 rabies cases have been confirmed in Montana.

“Rabies is a neurological virus,” said Tiffany Staigmiller, senior office clerk and volunteer coordinator at the City of Great Falls Animal Shelter. “The virus will travel up through the nervous system and make its way up to the brain and basically just destroy itself.”

Rabies spreads through saliva, most often from bites by infected wildlife such as bats and skunks. Once symptoms appear, the disease is almost always fatal.

“The numbers in the stats for the state of Montana may seem li

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