July 29, 2026
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After a South Jersey man was bitten by rabid raccoon, Gloucester County officials advised people to avoid wild animals and take other precautions. The photo above is a stock image.
A raccoon that bit a South Jersey man on Sunday has tested positive for rabies.
"I was walking to leave when a raccoon came out of the shrubbery and charged me," Kevin Tucker, of Glassboro, Gloucester County, told 6ABC on Tuesday. "I kind of fell backward, and I think that's when it bit the front part of my right leg."
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On Wednesday, Gloucester County health officials warned people to avoid wild animals and keep their distance from stray dogs and cats. They also advised pet owners to ensure that their pets have been vaccinated against rabies.
"Be aware that high risk wildlife such as raccoons, foxes and skunks also feed in areas where outside cats are fed," health officials warned.
Anyone that sees an animal that is behaving strangely or acting disoriented is advised not to handle it and immediately call Gloucester County animal control at (856) 881-2828.
Rabies is a viral disease that attacks the central nervous system and brain. It can be fatal if a person becomes symptomatic before getting medical attention.
Rabies spreads through contact with the saliva of infected animals. Fewer than five people each year test positive for rabies, but many more people come into contact with rabid animals, according to Yale Medicine.
Warm-blooded mammals are all susceptible to rabies, including raccoons, skunks, foxes, bats and dogs. Most dogs in the United States are vaccinated against rabies. Bats are the most common cause of the disease in the United States.
Because of its strict quarantine laws, Hawaii is the only state that is free of rabies.
Rabies symptoms mimic flu symptoms, including fatigue, weakness, fever and headache, which can make diagnosis tricky. Signs of rabies may also include prickling, itching and discomfort where a person has been bitten.
More advanced symptoms include hallucination, anxiety, agitation, extreme thirst and saliva production, and aggression and thrashing, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.
It can be weeks or months after a bite from a rabid animal before the first symptoms of rabies appear – and about two weeks between early signs and extreme symptoms. But rabies is incurable and fatal once a person develops clinical symptoms, the CDC says.
This is why it is crucial for people to seek immediate medical attention after being scratched or bitten by an animal that may be rabid. Clinicians at an emergency departments can determine whether a potentially exposed person needs a rabies shot.
According to CDC guidelines, a person who has not been vaccinated against rabies should first receive a shot of human rabies immune globulin. This shot gives a person antibodies to fight off the virus until the subsequent vaccination takes hold.
The rabies vaccine should be given at the first medical visit. Additional doses should be given three days later, seven days later and 14 days later. People with immune disorders may need a fifth shot, the CDC says.
