Alexandria officials sound rabies alarm after infected fox interacts with person and dog in Rosemont

A fox infected with rabies came into contact with a person and a dog in Alexandria, city health officials disclosed Thursday.

The separate incidents occurred near a home in the Rosemont area on Sunday. The Alexandria Health Department did not specify whether the fox, which is now dead and tested positive for rabies, scratched or bit the person or the dog.

Health officials said that while they are working with the person, whom they did not name, and the owner of the dog, there is a heightened chance of rabies exposure.

Another rabid fox was involved in a similar incident with a cat near Rosemont and the Del Ray area on Aug. 19.

The Alexandria Health Department urges residents to avoid wild animals and to keep their dogs leashed.

Symptoms of rabies include unusual aggression from an animal that would normally avoid people or flee, foaming at the mouth and drooling, and a sluggish, swaying gait, as if the animal were drunk.