A fox suspected of having rabies reportedly bit a 58-year-old woman on her hand and leg Tuesday night after the animal ran in her house, according to officials and a St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office report released Wednesday.

The fox, described as gray and the size of a house cat, reportedly also bit a neighbor and attacked the car of his 17-year-old daughter before the daughter ran over the fox. The incident happened in the 10000 block of Bluefield Road in the western portion of the county, and the 58-year-old woman said she “somehow” got the fox out of her home.

James Moses, environmental administrator for the St. Lucie County Health Department, said the fox was recovered and is being tested at a state laboratory in Lantana to determine whether it has rabies. He suspects the fox had rabies “based on the description of the animal’s actions.”

“Sustained aggression is actually a classic symptom of rabies,” Moses said.

Karen Taylor, St. Lucie County animal control coordinator, said the fox reportedly bit the woman about a half hour after biting a man at a home about one-quarter mile away.

Moses said both people who were bitten reportedly have started the rabies treatment process, which consists of a series of shots. They should be fine assuming they complete the treatment.

By Will Greenlee, TCPalm.com

Tags: car, fox, hand, Health, housing, James Moses, Karen Taylor, leg, man, rabid, roads, sheriff, shot

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 19th, 2009 at 11:31 am and is filed under St. Lucie County, State. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.