Mother of 4-year-old son gets phone call to tell her he has 'neglected tropical disease'

What started as a fun family day out at a petting zoo quickly turned into every parent’s worst nightmare.

Rebecca Lanning, 30, received a terrifying phone call telling her that her four-year-old son may have been exposed to a viral disease that causes an estimated 59,000 human deaths each year.

Her son had spent the morning feeding baby goats at a petting zoo in North Carolina.

The family had visited a dinosaur exhibit in Mocksville on 15 August, where the little boy hand-fed goats at the accompanying petting zoo. Naturally, at the time, Lanning thought nothing of it.

"I didn’t think anything of it until Friday, when his aunt called me and was like, 'Hey, we have a situation'," she told NBC News.

That 'situation' would prove devastating for Lanning and her loved ones.

The child was diagnosed with rabies (NBC)

She'd later discover that three of the baby goats her son fed had tested positive for rabies, while a fourth was suspected of having the disease.

Immediately, rushed her little boy to a doctor, where he began a six-dose course of rabies vaccinations.

Hospital staff also had to determine whether the child could have unknowingly touched his face after handling the animals, which would intensify the risk of fatality later down the line.

"My fear is that if he was feeding the goats, and he’s 4, who’s to say that he didn’t touch his mouth or eyes?" she said. "I don’t want to bury my child."

Rabies is a serious viral disease that attacks the brain and spinal cord and is almost always fatal once symptoms begin. It can be transmitted through the saliva of an infected animal, including through bites or scratches.

The World Health Organisation describes it as a 'neglected tropical disease'.

The warning signs can take weeks or even months to appear and may initially resemble flu symptoms, including fever, fatigue, weakness and headaches.

The four goats have since been euthanised (NBC)

Thankfully, rabies can be prevented if treatment is given before symptoms develop - and Lanning's son has already received two of his six scheduled vaccinations.

The goats that Lanning's son came into contact with belonged to Farm Adventures, a mobile petting zoo whose animals had appeared at events across North Carolina between 28 July and 23 August, including birthday parties, a back-to-school event and a visit to an assisted living centre.

According to a post from the company, the goats were too young to have received their rabies vaccinations and may have contracted the virus after a skunk entered their enclosure.

The four, named Molly, Maggie, Cow and Uno, have since been euthanised.

"These past few days have been incredibly difficult for us," a spokesperson for the farm wrote on Facebook.

Health officials are now working to identify anyone who may have been exposed.