CARROLL COUNTY, Ga. — The Georgia Public Health Laboratory confirmed that two foxes in Carroll County recently tested positive for rabies.
The Carroll County Animal Control Office found both foxes within less than a mile from each other in the vicinity of Highway 78, Villa Rica, and Old Villa Rica Road, Temple.
Officials say two foxes bit two residents of Carroll County. One person was bit on May 20, and the second person was bit on May 27.
The Carroll County Animal Control Office sent both foxes for testing to the Georgia Public Health Laboratory and received results that both foxes were positive for rabies.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
The GPHL said both victims were notified of the results and encouraged to begin Post Exposure Prophylaxis to prevent human rabies.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the majority of rabies cases reported annually occur in wild animals such as raccoons, skunks, foxes and bats.
“If you notice a wild or nocturnal animal moving about in the daytime and the animal appears to show no fear of people or the animal seems to behave in a sick or abnormal way, the animal may be infected with rabies,” said Melinda Knight, District 4 Public Health’s environmental health director.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Drivers performing stunts, spectators with firecrackers take over busy Buckhead intersection
- Georgia reaching near-record prices for gas once again
- ‘Armed and dangerous’ man wanted in connection with deadly shooting in Cherokee County
Knight also suggests that people avoid animals that are “acting out of character” and report it to animal control or their local environmental health office.
Seth Woodrow, District 4′s environmental health deputy director, said he encourages everyone to have all pets vaccinated to prevent rabies.
“It is important to remember that although rabies occurs more often in wildlife, domestic animals like the family dog or cat can become infected as well,” said Woodrow.
For more information on what rabies are and how to treat and prevent it, click here.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
IN OTHER NEWS:
This browser does not support the video element.