A hiker in Saguaro National Park evidently can thank his pants for avoiding a painful series of rabies vaccines following an encounter with a fox on the Miller Creek Trail near the park's boundary with Coronado National Forest.

According to a report from the park, the hiker was with two others a little more than a mile up the trail last Wednesday when a gray fox that they previously had scared off returned and tried to bite him. Apparently all the fox got was a mouthful of pants leg, however. 

The hiker was evaluated for possible exposure to rabies, but the bite apparently did not break the skin, a park release said.

This was the second such incident at Saguaro National Park East this year. There have been 51 confirmed cases of rabies in Arizona this year, 34 in southeast Arizona. Foxes, skunks and bats are the most common carriers

“Avoid contact with and don’t approach wildlife that is behaving abnormally or appears to be ill. If you believe that you see a rabid animal, call us at 1-623-236-7201,” said Regional Supervisor Raul Vega of Game and Fish in Tucson. “In addition, avoid touching any dead wildlife that you may find, and keep your pets away from them as well.”

Vega added that pets such as dogs and cats, as well as livestock like horses, should be regularly vaccinated for rabies. In addition, dogs should be on leashes when outdoors, and a veterinarian consulted if any domestic animals are injured by wildlife, he said. Unvaccinated animals exposed to wildlife with rabies must undergo a four-month quarantine.

Rabies is a preventable viral disease most often transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal. The rabies virus attacks the central nervous system, causing encephalitis (swelling of the brain). It is almost always fatal once symptoms appear.

Rabies can be prevented in persons who have come into contact or have been bitten by wild animals through prompt administration of a four-dose series of anti-rabies vaccine and rabies immune globulin.

Approximately 15 people are exposed to rabid animals in Arizona annually.