Updated
Updated · WALB · Jun 30
Rabid Fox Attacks 5-Year-Old Georgia Girl After Striking Neighbor 20 Minutes Earlier
Updated
Updated · WALB · Jun 30

Rabid Fox Attacks 5-Year-Old Georgia Girl After Striking Neighbor 20 Minutes Earlier

3 articles · Updated · WALB · Jun 30

Summary

  • Oaklyn Bishop, 5, is recovering at home after a fox bit her on her front porch near Dewar Elementary School in Valdosta on June 28.
  • The animal had attacked a neighbor about 20 minutes earlier, then latched onto Oaklyn’s leg until family members fought it off and later sought hospital care.
  • Tuesday test results showed the fox was rabid, according to the family, while the South Health District separately confirmed a positive rabies case in Lowndes County over the weekend.
  • Oaklyn is receiving post-exposure rabies treatment and, her mother said, is now afraid to go outside or be left alone in a room.
  • Health officials urged residents not to approach aggressive wild animals and to seek immediate medical care after any bite because rabies treatment works best when started quickly.

Insights

After a rabid fox attacked a child, are more infected animals now threatening Valdosta neighborhoods?
As suburbs expand into forests, are terrifying wildlife attacks becoming the new normal for American families?
Rabies treatment saved this girl, but what is the staggering cost, and can every family afford this life-saving care?