Yeah it's kinda like the misconception - oh skunks/bats/coons are horrible and carry rabies. There is no such thing as a carrier of rabies. Once an animal begins shedding the virus in their saliva, which means that is when it becomes contagious to other mammals, the animal will die in a matter of days. An animal does not walk around unaffected passing on the rabies virus. There are a lot of myths going around that make me want to scream. The media is the worst of the lot - giving misinformation and promoting fear and more ignorance.