The fox that attacked a young girl in New Jersey last week tested positive for rabies, according to the health department.
Young Lilith was one of two people in Jackson Township who were exposed to the animal over the weekend, the Ocean County Health Department said in a statement Wednesday. The 4-year-old was bit by the fox on Saturday but her brother was able to save her before further damage was done. She's now undergoing rabies post exposure prophylaxis, the department said.
The medical treatment procedure involves giving the exposed victims the human rabies immune globulin and rabies vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The fox that attacked Lilith died shortly after the Jackson Township Animal Control took it from her front yard near Aldrich Road and West Connecticut Concourse.
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Ocean County Health Department also said it received two additional reports of fox bites in the same neighborhood over the same two day span.
“The OCHD is always reminding people of the potential for an animal to become infected with rabies and the potential for human exposures,” OCHD spokesperson Daniel Regenye said in a news release. “But it does happen and that’s why it’s so important to remain vigilant especially in the warmer months when the potential for wildlife interactions with humans increase."
