Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

A fox caught in Hopkinton has tested positive for rabies while test results are pending for a second fox caught in the town -- and three people who were bitten will undergo treatment, the state Department of Environmental Management says.

The foxes were caught separately in the area of Sweet Valley Estates, near the Lindhbrook Golf Course near the center of town, the DEM environmental police said this evening.

Earlier today, a DEM news release warned Hopkinton residents that there have been two incidents in which people in town were bitten by foxes in unprovoked attacks -- and that one fox had tested positive for rabies.

Last night, a person was bitten while using a weed-whacking device in the yard in the Sweet Valley Estates area. Police called the DEM, whose officers captured and brought the fox to the state Department of Health laboratory, where it tested positive for the disease.

A second person got bitten during the capture, the DEM says.

Today, another person was bitten by a fox in an unprovoked attack, the DEM says. At the time of the news release, the fox was not captured.

The three people will get a series of vaccinations as part of the treatment regimen.

The DEM news release asked people in Hopkinton to be to be vigilant and to report any contact with foxes to DEM's environmental police office at 222-3070.

More about rabies from the state DEM ...

-- projo.com staff writer Michael P. McKinney, with reports from Journal staff writer Scott MacKay

Comments

cliff richey said:

see what happens when fox hunting is banned and the poor foxes have no useful occupation

Link | May 30, 2008 7:34 PM
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Ray R. Hogarth said:

We need to think about if we really want wild animals like foxes near our homes. R.R.H

Link | June 1, 2008 11:41 PM
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