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TextUpdate: Another Animal Tests Positive
Fairfax County Police Department
Public Information Office
4100 Chain Bridge Road, Fairfax, Va. 22030
703-246-2253. TTY 703-204-2264. Fax 703-246-4253
FCPD-PIO@fairfaxcounty.gov
www.fairfaxcounty.gov/police
News Release: 09/093/2631/spr
April 9, 2009
Update
Another Animal Tests Positive
On April 6, Animal Control officers returned to check the area of the 3400 block of Lyrac Street for the traps they had previously put out. A deceased fox was found laying in a yard. The fox was sent to the Fairfax County Public Health Laboratory and tested positive for the rabies virus.
Police Alert Residents to Rabid Animal Attacks
There have been several incidents, including at least two attacks, of rabid animals across Fairfax County this week. Police and health officials are concerned and canvassed neighborhoods in Oakton and McLean, alerting the public to the threat of the rabies virus and steps they can take to reduce their risk of exposure.
On Wednesday, April 1 at around 6 p.m., Animal Control officers responded to the 3400 block of Lyrac Street, Oakton for a report of a very sick cat on the front porch. Between 20 and 30 cats were seen, some of them pawing at the sick animal. Follow-up testing at the Fairfax County Public Health Laboratory showed that the cat tested positive for the rabies virus. Due to the large number of unvaccinated cats in the area, officers conducted a trapping operation on April 2 as well as an extensive door-to-door education effort. Anyone who may have had physical contact with these animals and may have been scratched or bitten by them, should contact health or police authorities. No charges have been placed in this incident and the investigation is ongoing.
Thursday, April 2 a raccoon, which later tested positive for the rabies virus, attacked two men near the 1400 block of Buena Vista Avenue, McLean. One of the victims is a 27-year-old Aldie man and the other is from Montgomery County, Maryland. Police and health officials are continuing to investigate to determine the men’s level of exposure or contact with the raccoon. The men were working on a landscaping crew when a raccoon ran out from shrubbery and attacked the men, biting and tearing their pants.
In another attack, Wednesday, April 1, a 19-year-old man was charged by a raccoon around 7 p.m. as he got out of his car at his home in the 6900 block of Southridge Drive, McLean. The animal ran at him, grabbed his pants leg, and tried to bite. After the victim was able to shake the raccoon off of him, it ran after the man’s 12-year-old brother but did not come into contact with the boy.
Rabies is a deadly virus that is transferred through the saliva of an infected animal. Vaccinations are mandatory in Fairfax County for all dogs and cats. Even if your pet is an “indoor-only” pet, the threat of rabies virus transmission is very real. Rabies is carried by a number of animals that live in Fairfax County, including raccoons, foxes, skunks, bats and others.
All dogs and cats four months of age and older must be inoculated against rabies. All dogs over four months of age must be licensed in Fairfax County. Failure to comply with these laws may result in fines of up to $250.00.
For more information about rabies, contact the Animal Services Division at 703-324-0222 or check www.fairfaxcounty.gov/police.
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