Health officials have confirmed a raccoon that bit a woman in Cheesequake State Park has tested positive for rabies.

The woman was bitten earlier this month in the Old Bridge park.

The animal was picked up by an Old Bridge animal control officer and taken to the New Jersey Department of Health lab for testing.

The woman was instructed to seek medical attention and rabies post exposure treatment.

The incident is the seventh rabid animal reported within Middlesex County this year.

Rabies is caused by a virus which can infect all warm-blooded mammals.

Residents are urged by state health officials to immediately report a bite from a wild or domestic animal to their local health department.