FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 1, 2024

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) confirmed that two foxes from two different counties have tested positive for rabies.

• A fox found near Locust and Alley streets in Great Falls, S.C., has tested positive for rabies. No people are known to have been exposed at this time. One dog was exposed and will be quarantined as required in the South Carolina Rabies Control Act.
• A fox found near N Matthews Road and Highland Pointe Drive in Lake City, S.C., has also tested positive for rabies. Two people were exposed and have been referred to their health care provider.

Both the Chester County fox and the Florence County fox were submitted to DHEC’s laboratory on April 29, 2024, and were confirmed to have rabies on April 30, 2024.

If you believe you, someone you know, or your pets have come in contact with either the Chester County fox or Florence County fox, or another animal that potentially has rabies, please call DHEC's Public Health York office at (803) 909-7096 or Florence office at (843) 915-8801 during normal business hours (8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday) or after hours and on holidays at (888) 847-0902 (Select Option 2).

“Keeping your pets up to date on their rabies vaccination is the easiest way to protect you and your family from this deadly virus,” said Terri McCollister, Rabies Program director. “Any mammal has the ability to carry and transmit the disease to people or pets. Therefore, give wild and stray animals plenty of space.”

In South Carolina, rabies is most often found in wildlife such as raccoons, skunks, foxes, and bats, but pets are just as susceptible to the virus. If you see an animal in need, avoid touching it. Contact someone trained in handling animals, such as your local animal control officer, wildlife control officer or a wildlife rehabilitator. An exposure is defined as direct contact (such as through broken skin or mucous membranes in the eyes, nose, or mouth) with saliva or brain/nervous system tissue from an infected animal.

In 2024, the Chester County fox is the second animal to test positive for rabies in that county, and the Florence County fox is the first animal in that county to test positive for rabies. There have been 24 cases of rabid animals statewide this year. Since 2002, South Carolina has averaged approximately 148 positive cases a year. Of the 78 confirmed rabies cases in South Carolina in 2023, one was in Chester County, and four were in Florence County.

Contact information for local Public Health offices is available at scdhec.gov/RabiesContacts. For more information on rabies visit scdhec.gov/rabies or cdc.gov/rabies.

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