Southwest Health District urges vigilance following identification of rabid fox

ALBANY — In response to the recent discovery of a rabid fox near Camp Osborn in Worth County, the Southwest Health District is urging the public to remain vigilant and take proactive measures to minimize the risk of rabies exposure.

Local authorities responded promptly to reports of a suspicious fox exhibiting erratic behavior near Camp Osborn. Subsequent testing confirmed the presence of the rabies virus in the animal. The immediate threat was neutralized, and there is no current indication of further exposure in the area.

Rabies is a fatal viral disease that affects the central nervous system and can be transmitted to humans through the saliva of infected animals, usually through bites or scratches. To minimize the risk of exposure, the Southwest Health District encourages the public to follow these important guidelines:

♦ Do not approach, handle, or feed wild or stray animals.

♦ Vaccinate your family pets against rabies annually.

♦ Teach children not to approach or play with wild or stray domestic animals of any kind.

♦ Do not leave pets or children outside unattended or allow them to roam free.

If bitten by an animal:

♦ Thoroughly clean the wound immediately with soap and water to reduce the likelihood of rabies transmission.

♦ Call your doctor, or local health department, or visit your local emergency room as soon as possible for advice. You or your doctor can consult with the Georgia Poison Center (404-616-9000 in Atlanta, or 800-282-5846 statewide) to decide whether post-exposure human rabies immune globulin and vaccine are recommended for this bite.

Your doctor can also tell you if you need a tetanus booster or antibiotics. Provide your doctor with the following information:

o Type of animal involved (pet or wild animal);

o Sick or well animal, type of symptoms;

o Provoked or unprovoked attack;

o Type of exposure (cut, scratch, licking of an open wound), part of the body, number of exposures;

o Animal’s vaccination status (does not apply to wild animals);

o Animal available/not available for testing or quarantine.

Under certain circumstances, a domestic animal may be placed under quarantine and observed for 10 days following the bite to see if it develops symptoms of rabies. Cats, dogs, and ferrets will become ill and expire within days of shedding the rabies virus in their saliva (the time of the bite).

If it is deemed necessary to euthanize the animal, it is imperative that the head/brain remains intact for testing.

To provide additional context, Worth County has tested 10 specimens with seven returning positive results since Jan. 1. This represents one of the highest number of specimens tested and positive cases recorded in a single year. Notably, among the positive cases, five were foxes, deviating from the typical primary vector, which is raccoons. The remaining two positive cases were raccoons.

For more information on this topic, contact the Southwest Health District at (229) 352-4275 or the Georgia Department of Public Health’s website at https://dph.georgia.gov/epidemiology/zoonoticvectorborneinfestations/rabies.

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