Ximena Bustillo, a food and agriculture policy reporter for Politico who had also been bitten on Tuesday, said she was not contacted by D.C. Health officials about the positive rabies test before the announcement became public.
It was not immediately clear what additional measures would be taken for the local fox population after the positive test. No other foxes were found on the Capitol Hill grounds, an earlier D.C. Health statement said, but it would not be uncommon to see more.
The status of other bite victims was unknown. Treatments for rabies, which can be fatal, should be started “as soon as possible after exposure,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The late vixen’s children — known as kits — were also found on the Capitol grounds and recovered on Wednesday morning, D.C. Health said. Officials said they were still determining what to do with the kits.
The Capitol fox, as she was christened earlier in the week as she roamed the grounds of the Capitol, was captured by animal control officers from the Humane Rescue Alliance on Tuesday afternoon. The Capitol Police and the Humane Rescue Alliance did not say at the time what would happen to the animal, referring questions to the city’s health department.