Overview
- A visitor was bitten by a fox at Mount Loretto Unique Area on Friday, prompting the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to issue a safety advisory that remains in effect through at least Monday.
- The DEC says it is actively monitoring and searching the 241-acre preserve and asks visitors to avoid feeding or touching wildlife and to report animals showing unusual behavior to NYSDEC Dispatch at 1-844-DEC-ECOS.
- State and city health officials remind people who are bitten to wash the wound with soap and water and seek immediate medical care because prompt post-exposure treatment can prevent rabies.
- Data cited by health agencies show higher rabies detection this year in New York wildlife, with 20 cases across Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island by late August and nine cases on Staten Island so far this year.
- Public-health officials say rabies is rare in humans but endemic in wildlife, noting that 313 wild and domestic animals tested positive in New York last year, and they warn the advisory could affect park use and prompt more local monitoring and reporting.