Officials: 2 Good Samaritans Safe From Rabies
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (CBS) �� Montgomery County Health Department officials say two men who came to the aid of a young girl who was being attacked by a rabid raccoon Thursday in Lower Merion are safe from contracting rabies.
According to officials, both men say they did not come in contact with the animal's saliva.
It was originally believed that one man had come to the aid of the young girl, but it was later determined that two friends saw the young girl in distress and came to her assistance, according to officials.
Officials say the Good Samaritans came to the aid of the young girl when she was walking home from school at about 4 p.m. Thursday through a wooded area on the Bridlewild Trail near Dodds Lane in Gladwyne. After coming to her aid, officials the men drove the girl home to her parents, but left before anyone found out their identity.
"Both men assured us they had not come in contact with the raccoon's saliva," said Julie Paoline, director of the Montgomery County Health Department's Division of Communicable Disease Control in a news release. "One apparently stood on the animal's tail while the other beat the raccoon with a hockey stick until it let go of the girl's leg."
According to officials, the raccoon was later captured by the Lower Merion animal control officer and submitted for rabies testing. When rabies was confirmed, officials say the county health department issued a press release and used social media to try to locate the men.
Officials say the girl was treated after the incident and is recovering.
