Former Idaho Statesman reporter survives fox bite, rabies, viral fame at U.S. Capitol
When Ximena Bustillo’s left ankle was bitten by a rabid fox on Tuesday near the U.S. Capitol, her first reaction was confusion. She swung her backpack at the fox to get it to go away. But she viewed what came next as a bigger challenge.
Bustillo, a former Idaho Statesman reporter who now works for Politico in Washington, D.C., was supposed to receive four shots (two immunoglobulin, one rabies, one tetanus) on the day of the bite. A mix-up at the hospital led her to initially only receiving three, everything except the rabies shot. The hospital confusion made the situation much worse, she said.
It wasn’t until someone from the local health district called to check on her that she realized there was a mistake since she didn’t have previous personal experience with rabies.
“Nobody knows what to do with rabies vaccines because they don’t give those to us regularly,” Bustillo said by phone.
Bustillo estimated she spent 10 hours total at the hospital on Tuesday and Wednesday. She eventually got the right vaccines sorted out and now is on schedule to receive two more rabies shots in the next two weeks to finish her post-bite treatment.
Five days after the fox bite, the Boise State graduate said she’s doing better overall, though it has been a busy two weeks.
While dealing with her treatment this week, Bustillo fielded several interview requests and also helped launch Voces Internship of Idaho, an equity-driven paid internship program to encourage Latino Idahoans to pursue a career in journalism.
She didn’t take any time off from work and she doesn’t plan to take any time off this upcoming week. She still plans to be in Denver on Sunday and Monday for a work trip.
“I haven’t really let it impact my day-to-day job,” Bustillo said.
There were at least nine confirmed bites and the fox was euthanized, according to The Washington Post. Rep. Ami Bera, D-Calif., was among those bitten.
Roughly 120,000 animals a year in the United States are tested for rabies, and of these, about 6% are found to be rabid, the Post reported.
Bustillo described the past few days as an interesting look in the mirror at how journalists treat their sources. She said one reporter tried interviewing her while she was still bleeding. Others, she said, were persistent but respectful.
“I understand the hustle,” Bustillo said, “... but you got to remember that people are people. I’ve been thinking about that a lot.”
Bustillo plans to receive her next shot seven days after the bite and the final shot will be 14 days after the bite. Now that she’s got that under control, she’s glad this was what she went viral for and not something worse. While hanging out with friends on Friday night, a stranger even approached Bustillo and said she recognized her.
“I hope that people don’t just think of me as the girl that got bitten by a fox,” Bustillo said, “and recognize that I’m trying to do important work.”
This story was originally published April 9, 2022 at 6:46 PM.
