Officials: Fox exposes person to rabies

TRAVELERS REST, S.C. - One person is receiving preventive treatment after being exposed to rabies in the Travelers Rest area, according to the S.C. Dept. of Health and Environmental Control.

Officials said the person came into contact with a fox that tested positive for the disease.

The fox is the third animal to test positive from Greenville County in 2014 . Statewide, there have been 62 confirmed cases in 2014, according to DHEC.

"To reduce the risk of getting rabies, we recommend that people avoid wild animals acting tame and tame animals acting wild," said Sandra Craig of the agency's Bureau of Environmental Health Services. "About 275 South Carolinians must undergo preventive treatment for rabies every year, with most exposures coming from bites or scratches by a rabid or suspected rabid animal. Wild animals transmit the disease most often, but domestic pets can contract rabies as well.

If you think you have been exposed to the rabies virus through a bite, scratch or the saliva of a possibly infected animal, immediately wash the affected area with plenty of soap and water. Then be sure to get medical attention and report the incident to DHEC, Craig said.

State law requires pet owners to have their pets regularly vaccinated against rabies.

On the Web:

For more information about rabies, see DHEC's webpage at http://www.scdhec.gov/rabies.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's rabies webpage can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/rabies.