YORK COUNTY, Va. — Residents in York County are being asked to report any exposure to a rabid fox that was reported in the Seaford area this week.
The Hampton & Peninsula Health Districts sent out a release Friday notifying the community that a gray fox and a dog were involved in an incident near Claxton Creek Road.
Animal Control tested the fox for rabies, and it came back positive.
The district's Environmental Health Services office will be contacting residents living in the immediate area of the incident.
Any person or animal that has been exposed to a fox in that area should be reported to the Peninsula Health District's Environmental Health Office at 757-594-7340. Even secondary exposures with a pet who has had contact with a fox should be reported.
To report an exposure after normal business hours, residents can call local Animal Control:
- Hampton: 757-727-6111
- Newport News/Poquoson: 757-595-7387
- Williamsburg/JCC: 757-565-0370 (daytime); 757-253-1800 (evenings, weekends, holidays)
- York County: 757-890-3601
"Rabies is a fatal, but preventable, disease carried by mammals and has been in the wild animal population on the Peninsula since the mid 1980’s," the health district release stated.
The district would like to remind all citizens to follow these three important rabies prevention guidelines:
- Vaccinate your pets.
- Report all exposures to animals (usually bites and scratches) to your doctor and the local health department.
- Enjoy wildlife from a distance – don’t feed or encourage wild animals such as raccoons, skunks or foxes to visit your premises.