Overview
- A gray fox was seen in the Bodega Aurrera parking lot in Cancún and scratched a one-year-old child during the October 3 sighting, prompting immediate medical attention.
- Authorities captured the animal, transferred it to the Centro de Control Animal and carried out euthanasia to obtain nervous tissue that the state public health laboratory later confirmed was rabies.
- Following laboratory confirmation, the Secretaría de Salud de Quintana Roo issued a public alert on October 11–12 asking anyone who touched the fox or whose pets interacted with it to report by calling 911 or 998 888 6640 for evaluation.
- The exposed infant received post-exposure rabies vaccination and is reported in good health; health officials stress prompt wound washing and urgent medical assessment to determine need for vaccine and immunoglobulin.
- Health officials note Mexico has eliminated dog-mediated human rabies but the virus still circulates in wildlife such as foxes, skunks and bats, so urban sightings can trigger active surveillance and preventive vaccination efforts.