Capitol Hill Fox & Three Pups Euthanized After Testing Positive For Rabies – And Biting 9 Staffers

After a story broke this week of a fox being captured after biting several people near the U.S. Capitol and Botanic Gardens, it’s been reported that her three pups had to be euthanized after the mother tested positive for rabies.

Before being captured, the fox reportedly bit around nine people from Monday evening to Tuesday afternoon, including a Politico reporter and Rep. Ami Bera (D-California). Health officials in D.C. later revealed that they had to euthanize the fox in order to test it for rabies, as they require brain tissue samples to process.

They also discovered three kits in the fox’s den that had to be put down as well. “Since the mother tested positive for the rabies virus and the kits could have been exposed during grooming or other means, they were no longer able to be safely rehabilitated and were humanely euthanized,” a representative for the D.C. Department of Health said.

If you’re bit by a rabies-positive animal, it’s recommended that you seek preventative treatment as soon as possible as a full rabies infection is almost always fatal. Rep. Bera didn’t take any chances after he was bit Monday night, and he had to get seven shots that night including “one in both buttocks,” to address the bite.