North Carolina County issues RABIES warning after 4-year-old girl was bitten by rabid fox in affluent suburb

Locals in North Carolina’s capital have been warned about rabies after a little girl was bitten by a rabid fox while playing on her local street.

The four-year-old boy suffered bites on her leg when the animal attacked her Saturday in a quiet suburb of Raleigh.

Bystanders say the fox also tried to bite her foot, but the girl was grabbed by her mother, who rushed her to hospital.

Local health officials have warned residents of Warren County — which covers Raleigh and has a population of 500,000 — to be on the lookout for rabid animals.

The girl is reportedly recovering well and has received anti-rabies antibodies and two injections of the anti-rabies vaccine. The fox was captured and euthanized.

The above image shows the scene where the attack took place, with chalk marks on the ground. The fox emerged from nearby bushes

She is believed to be at least the second child attacked by a rabid animal this year, after a young girl was also bitten by a rabid fox in upstate New York.

Each year, one to three people in the U.S. are diagnosed with rabies, which is transmitted through the bites or scratches of infected animals.

The cases are serious because the virus can infect the spinal cord and cause neurological symptoms including confusion, agitation and foaming in the mouth.

Nearly every person infected with rabies dies from the infection.

But infections after bites from rabid animals can be prevented if a person receives an injection of rabies vaccine and an injection of antibodies against the virus on the same day of the bite.

The patient will also need to receive vaccinations on days three, seven and fourteen after the bite.

Local reports say the girl was attacked by the rabid fox in Spiedie Court, a quiet part of the city’s outskirts.

Raleigh Animal Control was also called to the scene where they captured the rabid fox and then euthanized the animal before sending it to a lab for testing.

The results are expected within a few days.

The area behind the houses was initially densely forested, locals said, but construction work there is currently disrupting local wildlife.

It comes after a young girl from upstate New York, also four, was bitten by a rabid fox in early January.

The girl was attacked at a home on Hillside Drive just before noon and was rushed to hospital for treatment.

The fox then attacked a domestic dog in the area before it was caught and euthanized by officials.

The girl was rushed to hospital for rabies treatment.

Warning signs that an animal is infected with rabies include erratic behavior and foaming at the mouth.