A raccoon bit a resident multiple times in the Sandy Springs/Dunwoody area on Sunday, July 26, and the animal tested positive for rabies, Fulton County officials confirmed Friday, July 31.
The attack is the first confirmed rabid-animal bite on a person in the Sandy Springs/Dunwoody area this year. It follows two rabid bats confirmed in DeKalb County earlier this summer, as we reported July 28, but adds a new species and a new county to the region's growing 2026 rabies picture.
What happened
Fulton County Animal Services responded to a call about the attack and removed the raccoon, which subsequently tested positive, according to a Fox 5 Atlanta report citing a Fulton County Police Department Facebook post. The Fulton County Board of Health placed the location in the Sandy Springs/Dunwoody area, near the Fulton-DeKalb county line.
Officials have not disclosed the victim's identity or medical status. It is also unknown whether any pets or other animals in the neighborhood encountered the raccoon before it was captured.
Why it matters for pet owners
Fulton County officials are urging all pet owners to verify their animals' rabies vaccinations are current. Any unvaccinated pet exposed to a rabid animal must be quarantined for four months and vaccinated one month before release.
The stakes are high. Raccoons are a primary rabies reservoir in the eastern United States. The CDC reports that 10% of raccoons that expose people or pets in eastern states carry the virus, making them one of the highest rabies risks in the country. Nationally, about 4,000 animal rabies cases are reported each year, with more than 90% in wildlife.
Rabies is almost always fatal once symptoms appear, according to the CDC, but post-exposure treatment is nearly 100% effective when received promptly. Treatment includes wound care, human rabies immune globulin, and a series of four or five vaccine injections.
What to do
- Report unusual animal behavior: Call Fulton County Animal Services at 404-613-0358.
- If bitten or scratched by a stray or suspected rabid animal: Seek medical care immediately, then contact the Fulton County Board of Health at 770-520-7500, option 7.
The USDA announced its 2026 oral rabies vaccination program targeting raccoon rabies in the eastern U.S. on Friday, July 31, the same day Fulton County publicized the Sandy Springs incident.
