So Far: 38 Positive Rabies Cases in Fairfax County in 2012
County sees an increase in number of animals submitted for testing.
Recent, well-publicized attacks by rabid beavers have a number of Fairfax County residents wondering if there has been an increase in rabid animals this year. As of Oct. 1, there have been 38 positive rabies cases in the county, according to Fairfax County Police Public Information Officer Lucy Caldwell. Most of them are raccoons, but some were bats, beavers, skunks, foxes and one was a cat. “Each year, the Fairfax County Health Department Laboratory tests between 400 and 500 animals submitted from within Fairfax County,” said Dr. Peter Troell, medical epidemiologist for the Fairfax County Health Department, in a recent email. “Most years, approximately 10 percent of these animals test positive for rabies. In 2011, 42 animals tested …
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