Update at 4:50 p.m. on 10-25-23: The Onondaga County Health Department has confirmed that all individuals with known exposures to date have been evaluated and referred for treatment if they were deemed to be at risk.

“No other members of the community have reported an interaction with the rabid fox, but we remain very interested in learning about such encounters so that we can evaluate and recommend any necessary action to keep our community safe. Rabies is nearly always fatal, but simple, cost-free medical intervention can prevent the development of this disease,” said the Onondaga County Health Department.

Anyone who was bitten, scratched, or in direct physical contact with a fox in the Burnet Ave. area in Syracuse from Oct. 1 through Oct. 16, 2023 must take immediate action, they added.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — The Onondaga County Health Department is pleading for the public’s help in identifying a man seen on video, believed to have been bitten by a rabid fox in Syracuse just last week.

Health officials are urgently trying to find him, and possibly other people who were exposed to the fox caught on video. Concerns are growing, after videos circulating online show a rabid fox attacking several people in Syracuse last Monday night.

If you’ve been exposed to rabies and you don’t get treatment for it, you’re putting your life on the line.

“So this plea really goes out to anyone who might have been exposed to the rabid fox around October 16th or before,” said Dr. Katie Anderson, Onondaga County Health Commissioner.

Two of the three people seen in the videos have already been identified. But, the Onondaga County Health Department is still looking for the third person and anyone else who may have been exposed.

“We know that at this point there was a gentleman who was on video who was bitten by the fox and we can hear him say ‘i was bit’ which is very concerning because the fox was confirmed to be rabid, and rabies is almost 100% fatal in humans if it’s not treated,” said Dr. Anderson.

Treatment is almost 100 percent effective, and is offered by the Onondaga County Health Department at no cost. But you have to act fast.

“There’s a window of time when you can get that treatment in. Typically, about… ideally within 10 days… out to one to two months. It’s typically how long it may take on average for the disease to kind of manifest itself,” said Dr. Anderson.

The clock is now ticking. The health department is continuing to urge the public to help find the man seen in the video circulating online.

If you know the man in the video or believe you were exposed to the rabid fox, call the Onondaga County Health Department at 315-435-3236.