We have heard about a lot of rabies in Maine this year, but data shows cases of rabies in Maine in 2018 are on par with previous years.Rabies causes animals to act abnormally and sometimes attack humans and other animals, state veterinarian Michele Walsh said."Usually following a mild winter, we see a slight uptick and that's what we've seen this year," Walsh said.The virus is regularly found in the northern United States, Walsh said.So far this season, there have been 54 reported cases of rabies in Maine. The season begins in January.Last year, 61 cases were reported for the entire year -- about average with data from the past decade."We're right on track in terms of that trend," Walsh said, adding we have heard more about rabies this year, in part, because of where cases are being reported.Numbers of cases hit as high as 127 in 2016 to as low as 33 in 2015.To help combat rabies in the northern part of the state, the U.S. Department of Agriculture distributed more than 350,000 vaccine packets targeting raccoons.Cumberland County has seen the most rabies cases in the state with 11 this year -- seven of those cases were in Brunswick.Three cases in Brunswick include a man who was scratched by a fox after it attacked his dog, a fox that bit a woman on the ankle and a fox that attacked a 95-year-old man who was able to subdue and kill it."I think we've seen more interactions between people and wildlife in those areas and it just so happen that we had a little concentration of the virus in gray foxes in a town like Brunswick," Walsh said.To protect yourself and your pets, don't go outside if you see an animal acting strangely.The best way to prevent an animal from getting rabies is to have it vaccinated, Walsh said.Rabies was last detected in a human in Maine in 1937.