Kirovohrad region: a video of a rabid fox attacking a dog was posted on social media
Kyiv • UNN
The case of a rabid fox attacking a woman and her two children in Ukraine highlights the need to control the fox population and raise awareness of rabies risks.
Another case of a predatory fox attacking a dog occurred in Kirovohrad region, UNN reports, citing a public by environmentalists.
The authors argue that this is how rabies infection from wild animals most often occurs.
"After such an 'acquaintance' with a rabid fox, a dog or cat usually dies in agony in a few days," the report says.
The authors also emphasize that this video is a good example for animal activists who sometimes stand up for rabid animals.
"If there are no such videos online, then animal activists will continue to assure the public and the authorities that there are no rabid foxes, no wolves, and no rabies... This year they are preparing bills to add the wolf to the Red Book and to ban the regulation of the number of feral dogs and foxes in hunting grounds. And when not just one rabid fox comes into your yard, but several, and wolves start visiting the village, then maybe you will treat it differently and start recording cases and making them public so that there is an appropriate reaction from the authorities and society," the authors emphasize.
By the way, the head of the Dnipropetrovs'k Regional Council reported an attack by a predatory fox on a woman with two children. Meanwhile, 23 rabid foxes and 13 jackals have already been found in Odesa region. The authorities issued an order on urgent measures to prevent the spread of rabies.
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Rabies is an acute infectious disease of animals and humans caused by the neurotropic rabies virus (Rabies virus) from the genus Lyssavirus. It is characterized by the development of a kind of encephalitis with rapid damage to the central nervous system. In case of delay in providing qualified medical care, death is inevitable.
Causes of rabies and ways of transmission
A person can get rabies from an infected animal through:
- bite;
- scratches and microdamages to the skin;
- contact of infected saliva with mucous membranes.
Cats and dogs among domesticated animals most often infect people through contact, and foxes and wolves in the wild. Stray animals, in particular dogs, pose a particular risk, as they bite as an instinctive response to protect their territory, pack members, or to obtain food. The possibility of aerosol-contact infection has been proven (in the laboratory, during visits to caves inhabited by bats), when the virus passively enters through minor damage to the conjunctiva and oropharyngeal mucosa. If you have been bitten or licked by a stray or wild animal, seek medical attention immediately. Delay can cost you your life.
