Health Dept. urges residents to avoid contact with wild animals

The Santa Rosa County Health Department would like to remind residents to avoid contact with wild animals, after a Jay resident reported a fox behaving strangely near a school bus stop in a residential neighborhood.

It is not known whether the animal was rabid.  The fox was killed and the remains were not available for testing.  No one was bitten or scratched by the animal.

Rabies is a disease that affects the brain.  The virus is carried in the saliva of infected animals and is usually transmitted to people and other animals through a bite or scratch.  Most cases of rabies occur in wild animals such as raccoons, foxes, skunks and bats, but domesticated animals can carry it as well.  Rabies is fatal to humans and animals, but rabies in humans can be prevented if rabies vaccine is administered as soon after exposure as possible.

For more on this story, see the September 1 issue of the Navarre Press or subscribe online.