A fox near Columbia Avenue and Caughman Road in Lexington tested positive for rabies.

The fox submitted to the Department of Health and Environmental Control's laboratory was confirmed to have rabies May 27.

This fox is the 6th animal in Lexington County to test positive for rabies in 2020.

 In 2019, 17 of the 148 confirmed rabies cases in South Carolina were in  Lexington County.

Please contact DHEC if you know of any possible human or animal exposure.

Be sure to immediately wash any part of your body that may have come into contact with saliva or neural tissue with plenty of soap and water, and seek medical attention.

Exposure is defined as a bite, scratch, or contact with saliva or body fluids from an infected animal.

"To reduce the risk of getting rabies, always give wild and stray animals plenty of space," said David Vaugha,of DHEC.

Keep pets up to date on rabies vaccination, as this is one of the easiest and most effective ways to protect the,

Contact information for local Bureau of Environmental Affairs offices is available at www.scdhec.gov/EAoffices. For more information on rabies, visit www.scdhec.gov/rabies or www.cdc.gov/rabies.