{"id":474126,"date":"2026-10-23T03:46:08","date_gmt":"2026-10-23T03:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/474126\/"},"modified":"2026-10-23T03:46:08","modified_gmt":"2026-10-23T03:46:08","slug":"4-more-animals-test-positive-for-rabies-in-san-marcos-area-child-exposed-to-infected-bat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/474126\/","title":{"rendered":"4 more animals test positive for rabies in San Marcos area, child exposed to infected bat"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>SAN MARCOS, Texas \u2014 San Marcos officials are warning residents to take precautions after four additional animals <a href=\"https:\/\/sanmarcostx.gov\/rabies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">tested positive for rabies<\/a> in the area, including a bat that came into contact with a child.<\/p>\n<p>According to the City of San Marcos, the newly confirmed cases involve three foxes and a skunk across the area, along with a bat in Hays County. The cases follow a previously confirmed rabid fox found on the Texas State University campus Oct. 14.<\/p>\n<p>Three of the latest cases were reported Wednesday, Oct. 21:<\/p>\n<p>Skunk: Found on Wild Honeysuckle Way in the Kissing Tree neighborhood. No human contact was reported.Fox: Found on Franklin Drive in the Westover neighborhood. No human contact was reported.Bat: Found in Hays County. A child came into contact with the bat after brushing it off their clothing with their hand. The child is receiving treatment following the potential exposure.<\/p>\n<p>A fourth case involving a fox near Stagecoach Trail was confirmed Thursday, Oct. 22.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cbsaustin.com\/news\/local\/austin-311-utility-customer-service-hours-to-be-reduced-starting-nov-1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">ALSO| Austin 311, utility customer service hours to be reduced starting Nov. 1<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The latest cases bring the total to five confirmed rabies cases reported in the San Marcos area since Oct. 14.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It is unusual for wildlife to test positive for rabies,&#8221; said Shanna O&#8217;Brien, the city&#8217;s Neighborhood Enhancement Director. &#8220;We are tracking an increase in incidents across our area.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Rabies is a deadly virus that can infect mammals, including wildlife, pets, and humans. It is commonly transmitted through bites or scratches from infected animals.<\/p>\n<p>City officials are urging residents to avoid contact with wildlife, keep pets current on rabies vaccinations, and seek medical attention immediately after a possible exposure.<\/p>\n<p>Residents who encounter sick or unusually behaving wildlife should contact San Marcos Animal Control at 512-805-2655.<\/p>\n<p>In response to the increase in cases, the city is organizing a free rabies vaccination clinic to help residents protect their pets. The date, time, and location of the clinic have not yet been announced.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN MARCOS, Texas \u2014 San Marcos officials are warning residents to take precautions after four additional animals tested&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":474127,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133],"class_list":["post-474126","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474126","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=474126"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/474126\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/474127"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=474126"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=474126"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=474126"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}