06/04/2025
This past Monday, we admitted an adult female Red Fox from Hamilton, Virginia and she tested positive for Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI).
This animal was lateral on intake and not responding to handling. She was also exhibiting tremors and nystagmus, a rhythmic, involuntary eye movement that is often seen with brain trauma or disease. Given these severe neurological signs without any indication of trauma, our top differentials were rabies, distemper, and HPAI. As all of these diseases have a very poor prognosis, humane euthanasia was elected and testing was performed for rabies and HPAI. While rabies testing is still pending, the HPAI testing came back positive.
This is the first report of an HPAI positive mammal in our state (though most other states have seen many mammalian positives, especially in dairy cows and free-roaming domestic cats). With cases on the rise at our hospital, and foxes having been found positive in multiple nearby states, this case did not come as a surprise. This positive was of course reported to the proper authorities and those that came into contact with the fox are actively monitoring for HPAI signs, which include fever, body aches, and irritated eyes in humans.
Please help us minimize the risk of this virus by keeping a respectful distance from wildlife. Most cats are infected by hunting wild prey or ingesting raw meat or milk, so please do not allow pets to free roam and do not feed raw milk or meat products. Keep yourself safe by avoiding these products as well. Please read the press release from DWR (linked in the comments) to learn more about this virus and how to stay safe.
This virus is still considered low risk to humans and there is no need to be concerned as long as you are staying up to date on the outbreak through reliable sources and taking proper precautions around wildlife and susceptible domestics.
