An infectious animal pathogen has appeared at the Stockton Animal Shelter and staff are taking precautions by halting intake and closing through early June, the shelter said.

A case of Streptococcus zooepidemicus, also known as “strep zoo,” was detected and all stray intake, adoptions and other business with the public will be halted through June 4, according to the shelter.

During the closure, the shelter will undergo a thorough disinfecting of the facility to prevent the spread of the bacteria.

The Stockton Animal Shelter advised anyone who needs assistance with a stray animal to post neighborhood flyers, share the found pet on social media and other community pages, and contact Stockton Animal Services at (209) 937-7445 to schedule an appointment to bring the animal in after the quarantine period ends.

A similar strep zoo outbreak in October last year prompted a two-week closure of the shelter.

The Animal Shelter will reopen for normal business hours on Saturday, June 6.

Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.