Two people are receiving treatment and Orange County Animal Control officers are active in Chapel Hill Friday night after the pair of people were bitten by a fox.

Orange County Animal Services shared an alert shortly after 4 p.m. on Friday, saying it is urging residents to “exercise caution” since the animal could be rabid.

According to animal services, the incident happened along Erwin Road near Kirkwood Drive and McGregor Drive — which is near the Windover and Erwin Village neighborhoods. As of 4 p.m., Animal Control officers were on-site searching for the animal and trying to safely capture the fox to conduct appropriate rabies testing. The release said Orange County Animal Services could not confidently say the fox was rabid without that testing, but said “this type of severe, aggressive behavior is not normal.”

As Animal Control continues to respond, the department encouraged residents along Erwin Road and the surrounding Chapel Hill neighborhoods to monitor their pets and children, saying they should potentially be kept indoors until “the situation is resolved.” Anyone who sees a fox acting aggressively or unusually is encouraged to call 9-1-1 to be connected to an on-call Animal Control officer.

When a human experiences a potential rabies exposure, an Orange County Health Department communicable disease expert examines the victim and evaluates their risk before making a decision on spread prevention. Rabies, which is a viral infection, spreads via direct contact and secondary exposure to saliva, usually through bites, scratches or direct contact with eyes, mouths or open wounds.

As May, Orange County has experienced four confirmed cases of rabies in the calendar year, with the most recent being a raccoon case in Hillsborough in April. The North Carolina Department of Health & Human Services’ page on rabies information and statistics can be found here.

This is a developing story and may be updated with further information.

Featured photo by Dmitry Demidov.

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