Post by Graveyardbride on Jul 24, 2020 14:32:36 GMT -5
Rabid Fox Attacks in North Carolina and Maine
Julie Loflin of Greensboro, N.C., was lying in her bed Sunday night (July 19) when a fox hopped onto the bed, bit her finger and then latched onto her foot. She grabbed the animal around the neck and held it tightly until police arrived 12 minutes later. “I was praying that I would live,” she told reporters. “I don’t know what else you could do. Maybe throw a pillow at it, or a blanket at it, or something like that.”
The animal, which had gotten into the house through a dog door, tested positive for rabies and Ms. Loftin is now being administered the rabies vaccine. Treatment for rabies, postexposure prophylaxis (PEP), consists of a single dose of human rabies immune globulin (HRIG) and four doses of rabies vaccine administered on the day of exposure, followed by additional doses on days 3, 7 and 14.
Neighbors in the area reported seeing an increasing number of foxes close to their properties.
Maine Attacks
Lisbon. On May 19, almost 900 miles north of Greensboro in Lisbon, Maine, a 76-year-old woman was relaxing in her yard when she was attacked by a fox that bit her on the legs and hand. Her husband managed to kill the animal and the carcass was taken to the Maine Center for Disease Control in Augusta, where it tested positive for rabies. The woman’s wounds were treated at a nearby hospital and she, too, was administered the rabies vaccine.
Gray. A month earlier, on April 16, Eliza Watson of Gray was working in her garden when she saw a “really scraggly” fox. Concerned for her 5-year-old son, she attempted to chase the intruder away, but instead of running off like a normal wild animal, it charged her.
Ms. Watson’s ordeal continued for approximately 45 minutes until she shoved the fox she was attempting to throttle into a turkey fryer. “I was using all my strength to keep the lid on this pot, it’s a pretty big pot,” she explained. “My muscles were angry.” As soon as the fox was under the cover, she called 911 and her husband. Game wardens took possession of the animal, which turned out to be rabid.
Phippsburg. On the morning of February 4, Jake Becwar went out to scrape the ice off his windshield and start his car. After turning on the lights, he felt something tug on the scraper. “I turned and looked and saw it was a fox and it was starting to come after me and I started swinging,” he reported. He beat and kicked the animal away before it could bite him. However, Becwar injured his back when he fell during the confrontation.
An individual on a nearby street was bitten by a fox the same morning.
Brunswick. Dick Belanger, 71, was attacked by a fox on January 29. When he noticed a fox chasing his daughter’s dog, he went outside in his bare feet and proceeded to grab both the fox and mutt. “I got the dog out of the way and then the fox bit me on the foot and when he went to bite me, I grabbed him by the neck, put my knee on him and held him for about 10 minutes,” Belanger explained. He then called to his wife to toss him a knife, however, the knife was too dull to break the hide of the creature. Police showed up shortly thereafter and shot the animal. Belanger claimed he received more than a dozen rabies shots.
On December 6, 2019, a fox came at a woman walking on School Street in Brunswick. She wasn’t bitten and police tracked down the animal and killed it.
Bath. Eighty-eight-year-old Norman Kenney was attacked by a rabid fox in his driveway on January 3. “I’m in the middle of that driveway trying to beat it off with a cane and the cane kept breaking. ... I grabbed him by the neck, trying to choke him. I can feel his windpipe,” Kenney recalled. The elderly man was scratched and bitten all over his hands and face defending himself against the mad monster. Bath police killed the animal and Kenney was transported to Midcoast Hospital, where he received stitches to his finger and eyebrow as well as the rabies vaccine.
Concerning the cuts to his eyebrow, Kenny said, “The fox must have grabbed on to [my eye]. It’s a wonder he didn’t get the eyeball and pull the eyeball out.”
This was the second time Kenney was attacked by a fox. In September 2019, a fox nipped the pants leg of the former fire chief, who was able to stomp the intruder to death. “I said, ‘I’m sorry Mr. Fox, it’s either you or me,’” he remembered.
On November 4, 2019, another Bath man was attacked by a rabid fox and broke his arm defending himself against the crazed beast. He viciously kicked the animal to no avail and the fox, which seemed much stronger and more determined than normal, actually bit through his shoe into his foot. The four-legged monster “attacked like Cujo,” the man said.
A fourth attack in Bath occurred when a rabid fox approached two children playing in the backyard of one of their homes. The little girls ran into the house with the fox at their heels. The deranged animal managed to bite 6-year-old Julia on the leg before going after the family dog. The child’s treatment included administration of the rabies vaccine.
The City of Bath began a trapping program in March in hopes of combating the ever-increasing number of rabid animal attacks in the area, which have increased 700% since 2018.
Lewiston. In June 2020, a rabid fox bit a pet cat.
Rabies Death in Utah
In 2018, a 55-year-old Utah man died of rabies. He presented to the emergency room on October 17 with complaints of pain in his neck and arm, which he ascribed to an on-the-job injury. Two days later, an ER physician diagnosed muscle spasm and numbness/burning in the right arm, prescribed medication and discharged the patient.Rabies Death in Utah
On October 20, the man reported he could not breathe and hadn’t been able to sleep for four days. He was transported by ambulance to the hospital, where he continued to complain of severe pain and the inability to eat or drink, which was attributed to esophageal spasm. He was shuffled from one hospital to another where his symptoms were treated. Four days later (on October 24), he had a temperature of 104° and his condition had deteriorated to the point he was placed on a breathing machine. By the following day, he was having seizures and slipped into a coma.
It wasn’t until November 3, more than two weeks after he initially sought treatment, that a consulting physician ordered a rabies test and by then, it was too late. The man died the following day.
However, doctors aren’t wholly to blame because neither the patient nor family members told anyone he had been exposed to bats while dealing with an infestation in the attic of his home, during which he handled the bodies of dead bats with his bare hands. According to the CDC, the homeowner likely contracted rabies simply by coming into contact with the bodily fluids of the infected animals. The rabies virus can enter the bloodstream through small cuts and scratches.
Virginia Woman Dies of Rabies
On May 3, 2017, a 65-year-old Virginia woman began experiencing pain in her right arm approximately a month after returning from a seven-week yoga retreat in India. Three days later, she presented to an urgent care clinic, where the attending physician diagnosed carpal tunnel syndrome and prescribed hydrocodone and anti-inflammatory medication. The following day, May 7, she presented to a hospital emergency room with complaints of shortness of breath, anxiety, insomnia and difficulty swallowing. The doctor decided she was having a panic attack and she was administered anti-anxiety drugs. However, she didn’t make it out of the parking lot and returned to the ER with shortness of breath and claustrophobia. Again, she was told she had nothing more than a panic attack and sent home.
On May 8, she arrived at the emergency room via ambulance with extreme pain in her arm and shoulder, shortness of breath, anxiety and progressive paresthesia (numbness or burning sensations in the extremities). A neurological examination revealed signs of ataxia (disorders that affect co-ordination, balance and speech). Lab results showed elevated cardiac enzymes and an electrocardiogram suggested acute cardiac ischemia with atypical chest pain, however, cardiac catheterization indicated her coronary arteries were normal.
By evening, the woman had become “progressively agitated and combative” and gasped for air when she attempted to drink water. At this point, a member of staff questioned the lady’s husband concerning possible exposure to animals and he revealed his wife had been bitten by a puppy several weeks earlier in India. There was no evidence she had undergone a health screening or received a rabies vaccination prior to the trip.
On May 9, the patient exhibited signs of severe brain infection and was placed on a ventilator. Two days later – more than a week after she presented to urgent care – she was diagnosed as having rabies and during the following 10 days, doctors worked furiously to save her life, but to no avail. During treatment, she had been placed in a medically-induced coma and on May 21, her family decided to cut off life support and she died shortly thereafter.
discontinued treatment On May 11 she was officially diagnosed with rabies and over the next 10 days doctors attempted to save her life to no avail. After being put in a medically induced coma, her family decided to halt all treatment on May 21 and she died shortly after.
On May 8, she arrived at the emergency room via ambulance with extreme pain in her arm and shoulder, shortness of breath, anxiety and progressive paresthesia (numbness or burning sensations in the extremities). A neurological examination revealed signs of ataxia (disorders that affect co-ordination, balance and speech). Lab results showed elevated cardiac enzymes and an electrocardiogram suggested acute cardiac ischemia with atypical chest pain, however, cardiac catheterization indicated her coronary arteries were normal.
By evening, the woman had become “progressively agitated and combative” and gasped for air when she attempted to drink water. At this point, a member of staff questioned the lady’s husband concerning possible exposure to animals and he revealed his wife had been bitten by a puppy several weeks earlier in India. There was no evidence she had undergone a health screening or received a rabies vaccination prior to the trip.
On May 9, the patient exhibited signs of severe brain infection and was placed on a ventilator. Two days later – more than a week after she presented to urgent care – she was diagnosed as having rabies and during the following 10 days, doctors worked furiously to save her life, but to no avail. During treatment, she had been placed in a medically-induced coma and on May 21, her family decided to cut off life support and she died shortly thereafter.
discontinued treatment On May 11 she was officially diagnosed with rabies and over the next 10 days doctors attempted to save her life to no avail. After being put in a medically induced coma, her family decided to halt all treatment on May 21 and she died shortly after.
Rabies Symptoms
Rabies is one of the most horrendous diseases known to man. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, following exposure, the incubation period may be weeks, or even months, and is often dependent on the location of the exposure site, i.e., the distance from the brain.
Rabies is one of the most horrendous diseases known to man. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, following exposure, the incubation period may be weeks, or even months, and is often dependent on the location of the exposure site, i.e., the distance from the brain.
The first symptoms of rabies are much like those of influenza and include general weakness or discomfort, fever, dizziness, nausea, loss of appetite and headache. There also may be a prickling sensation or itching at the infection site. The period of general malaise is followed by delirium, hallucinations, hydrophobia (fear of eater), difficulty swallowing, muscle spasm, sensitivity to light, paralysis, aggression, irritability, anxiety, dilated pupils, excess salivation and drooling, confusion and seizures.
Once the clinical signs of rabies appear, there is no cure and the disease is almost always fatal. In fact, there are less than 20 reported cases of a human being surviving after exhibiting the clinical signs of rabies.
By Graveyardbride and Joanna
Sources: Daniel Pierce, WGHP, July 23, 2020; Tisha Powell, WTVD, June 23, 2020; The Bangor Daily News, May 21, 2020; Dustin Wlodkowski, WBTS, April 24, 2020; WGME, February 8, 2020; WHDH, March 14, 2020; Leah Groth, Prevention, January 7, 2019; The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and Florida Department of Health.