Alexandria health officials are warning residents of the Rosemont area to stay cautious after a fox encountered a dog and a person in separate incidents.<\/p>\n
Alexandria health officials are warning residents of the Rosemont area to stay cautious after a fox encountered a dog and a person in separate incidents.<\/p>\n
The fox \u201ccame into contact\u201d with other on Nov. 9; but it is unclear if either the dog or person was bit or hurt.<\/p>\n
Health officials are urging anyone that may have been exposed to the fox to contact them.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn this case, an exposure to a rabid fox means that a person or animal is either scratched or bitten by a fox,\u201d Eve Elliott, spokesperson for the Alexandria Health Department, told WTOP.<\/p>\n
The health department offered few other details.<\/p>\n
Elliott said the fox was \u201cput down\u201d and tested positive for rabies, a viral disease that\u2019s spread through saliva due to a bite or scratch from an infected animal.<\/p>\n
The dog\u2019s owners and the person have been contacted by the health department, Elliott said, \u201cand we\u2019re taking any safe next steps to make sure that they don\u2019t get sick.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elliott said rabies is endemic to Virginia: \u201cIt\u2019s not tremendously uncommon that we have these rabies exposures in Virginia.\u201d<\/p>\n