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A fox that bit two people and a dog at Double Trouble State Park in Berkeley has been located and tested positive for rabies, New Jersey environmental officials said Thursday.
An Ocean County Department of Health spokesman couldn’t immediately say Thursday whether the fox was found dead or captured, but said it was collected in the area of Pinewald Keswick Road, which runs through the 8,000-acre state park.
The park is closed Thursday for the fourth straight day, the state Environmental Protection Department said on Thursday.
DEP officials said earlier this week that park guests had an “encounter” with a fox on Monday.
In addition to the Double Trouble incidents, five children were bitten by another fox suspected of having rabies about 15 miles away in Lakewood.
Two children were bitten in separate incidents at a Lakewood park, while three other children were bitten in a yard. A Lakewood police spokesman said Thursday afternoon he was not aware of any other attacks.
This fox is also suspected of having rabies, said the spokesman for the district’s health department.
Anyone bitten by a fox – or any wild animal – should seek immediate medical attention and notify police and the local health department, authorities said. Humans should not approach wild animals, especially if an animal is exhibiting atypical behavior such as general nausea, excessive aggressiveness, or even appearing friendly and/or tame.
Most wild animals are shy around humans. Other signs of an infected animal are heavy drooling, circling or shaking, said a spokesman for the health department.
The animals that most commonly transmit rabies in the United States are raccoons, foxes, skunks, and bats.
If people are treated quickly after exposure, they are extremely unlikely to contract rabies State Health Department said. People who develop symptoms of rabies are likely to die, officials say.
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Jeff Goldman can be reached at [email protected].
