Four people were bitten by a rabid fox that was later shot by police at the Walmart parking lot Friday.
The Pittsylvania-Danville Health District does not know the individuals’ conditions or whether they sought immediate treatment, which is critical after a bite or scratch from a rabid animal.
“We’ve advised them all to seek medical attention right away,” said Dr. Scott Spillmann, the district’s director. “I don’t know if they’ve done that.”
In one incident, two people were bitten in the Walmart parking lot after the fox came out from under some bushes and ran at them, said Paulette Dean, executive director of the Danville Area Humane Society.
On Sunday, the health district sent out a release urging anyone who received a bite or scratch, or were exposed to saliva from the fox around Thursday in the area of Mount Cross Road and Tyler Avenue to seek care at the nearest emergency department immediately.
Rabies is a deadly disease and is 100% fatal once symptoms begin, but it can be prevented if treatment begins immediately after exposure, according to the health district.
A Danville police officer shot the fox and an animal control officer brought the animal’s body to the Danville Area Humane Society, Dean said.
State health department staff picked up the animal from the humane society and the fox’s brains were sent to a state lab for analysis to determine whether it had rabies.
While it’s not known for sure what factors led to the incidents, Dean said she suspects a colony of feral cats in an area beside Walmart’s garden center could be drawing wildlife there.
“Cat colonies do have a tendency to bring a wildlife population because of the easy food source for them,” Dean said.
Well-meaning individuals tossing food on the ground for the cats can attract wildlife, she said.
Walmart has been cooperative in dealing with the situation, Dean said. They reached out to the Danville Police Department’s animal control about the issue weeks ago, she said.
The humane society is working with the Virginia Department of Health and the Danville Police Department on a plan to trap more of the feral cats, Dean said.
Also, individuals feeding the cats may throw food to them because they don’t want to take them to the humane society, where they would likely be euthanized, she said.
Animal control put out traps for the cats, but a few people who were feeding them either let the cats out or tried to destroy the traps, Dean said.
“We understand the emotion of this issue,” she said. “But the seriousness of this [rabies danger] cannot be understated.”
If someone is bitten or scratched by a rabid animal, or comes into contact with its saliva, they should wash the wound or area with soap and water, Spillmann said.
“If you ever wash anything thoroughly, this would be the time to do it,” Spillmann said.
However, puncture wounds are notorious for being difficult to clean, he added.
After washing the area, the victim should immediately contact their health care provider and go get evaluated, Spillmann said. The doctor will decide the best course of action, he said.
“Do not delay in getting your treatment,” he said.
If the bite was from a rabid animal or officials don’t know in time if the animal is positive, a regimen of shots would begin the third day after the exposure, and continue on day seven and day 14, Spillmann said.
In the United States, the regimen includes one dose of immune globulin and four doses of rabies vaccine over a 14-day period, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“Rabies immune globulin and the first dose of rabies vaccine should be given by your health care provider as soon as possible after exposure,” according to the CDC website. “Current vaccines are relatively painless and are given in your arm like a flu or tetanus vaccine; rabies vaccines are not given in the stomach.”
The initial immune globulin shot protects the person immediately, while the subsequent vaccines stimulate the body’s immune response, Spillmann said.
Rabies in mammals typically has an incubation period of three to 12 weeks, Spillmann said. Following a bite from a rabid animal, the virus enters the muscles, nerves, spinal cord and then the brain, he said. It multiplies and causes severe inflammation in the brain.
It gets into the saliva before the mammal shows signs of being ill, Spillmann said.
The four animals of top concern for rabies infection include raccoons, bats, skunks and foxes, as well as pets including cats and dogs, Spillmann said.
Rabies symptoms in mammals can include fatigue, flu-like symptoms, seizures, hydrophobia (avoiding water) and stopping eating, he said. Difficulty swallowing, drooling and biting at imaginary objects are other signs.
Cases of human rabies in the U.S. are rare, with only one to three reported annually, according to the CDC. Twenty-five cases of human rabies have been reported in the U.S. from 2009-2018. Seven of these infections were acquired outside of the U.S. and its territories.
The number of human rabies deaths in the United States has been steadily declining since the 1970s, thanks to animal control and vaccination programs, successful outreach programs, public health capacity and laboratory diagnostics and the availability of modern rabies biologics, according to the CDC.
But each year, hundreds of thousands of animals need to be placed under observation or be tested for rabies, and between 30,000 to 60,000 people need to receive the regimen of rabies shot, according to the CDC.
A tiny number of people have survived the disease, Spillmann said.
“There have been only 20 people in the world throughout history who survived rabies,” Spillmann said.
