A nine-year-old boy from the commune of Bogdănești, Bacău County, was attacked and bitten by a fox while playing in the yard of his family’s home, in an incident that authorities later confirmed involved a rabid animal.
According to local news website unupetrotus.ro, the attack occurred on Thursday, July 30, at the rear of the family’s property. The child’s father intervened immediately, fighting off the fox and ultimately killing it after it turned on him.
„My son simply went into the yard to play when the fox jumped at his legs. I heard him screaming. When I ran to see what had happened, I panicked and struck the fox on the head with a hoe handle,” the father told unupetrotus.ro.
By the time he reached the child, the fox had already bitten the boy’s leg.
„I heard him shouting, ‘Help, help!’ The fox had already bitten his leg. It let go of my son and turned toward me to bite me,” the father said, adding that he had to struggle with the animal before managing to kill it.
The boy was immediately driven by his family to the Emergency Department of the Onești Municipal Hospital, where he received medical treatment and began post-exposure rabies vaccination.
„We are grateful to the doctors and medical staff in Onești for reacting quickly and treating our son. They administered the vaccine, and he is now doing well,” the father said.
Both the child and his father are currently hospitalized in the hospital’s Infectious Diseases Department, where they are receiving preventive treatment following exposure to a rabies-infected animal.
The fox’s carcass was collected by a veterinarian and sent to a laboratory in Bacău for testing. Laboratory analysis later confirmed the presence of the rabies virus.
According to the family, residents have reported seeing three or four more foxes in the area, raising concerns that similar attacks could occur again.
The incident comes shortly after the Bacău County Directorate for Veterinary and Food Safety (DSVSA) announced several rabies outbreaks across the county, including a confirmed case involving a fox in Bogdănești commune.
Authorities have urged the public to avoid contact with wild animals displaying unusual behavior and to immediately notify a veterinarian or the relevant authorities if such animals are encountered.
