by SUSAN MANN
After a long hiatus, the raccoon and fox strains of rabies have returned to Ontario.
Chris Davies, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry manager of wildlife research and monitoring protection, said since Dec. 4, 2015, there have been 91 cases of raccoon rabies in the Hamilton area, including four in Haldimand and two in Niagara Region.
About 70 per cent of those cases are in raccoons and 30 per cent are in skunks, he said.
There have also been two case of fox rabies north of Stratford, near Brunner. They are not related to the raccoon-strain rabies cases near Hamilton.
For the raccoon cases, “it’s the first time we’ve had raccoon cases of rabies in Ontario for 10 years,” Davies noted. For fox rabies, “it’s the first time in four years that we’ve had a fox rabies case.”
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs spokesperson Bianca Jamieson, said by email that one of the fox rabies cases was in a calf. The animal was “exhibiting neurological signs” near the end of December. The animal was euthanized and tested.
Subsequent test results came back “positive for Arctic fox-variant rabies,” she said.
Other animals on the farm that were in close contact with the calf were placed “under a 40-day precautionary confinement period,” she said. “None of the other animals on the farm have shown any signs of rabies.”
Davies said the rabies in the calf was transferred from wildlife.
Jamieson said any farmer who suspects rabies should isolate the animal immediately, minimize contact with it, and call their veterinarian.
All animals are susceptible to getting rabies, including livestock, such as cows, sheep and pigs, she said.
For more information on rabies in Ontario, farmers can go to the ministry's website.
Davies said his research group’s goal is to eliminate the fox and raccoon rabies strains from Southern Ontario. A third strain of rabies found in Ontario is in bats.
To combat the raccoon and fox rabies outbreak in the province, ministry officials have been dropping small baits with rabies vaccine in them since December. “The animal eats the bait and is vaccinated against rabies,” he explained.
Officials have also been collecting samples from “strange-acting animals” within 50 kilometres of the area where the Hamilton cases were found. “We found the 91 cases because we were out looking for them,” he said.
Starting in April, ministry workers dropped an additional 500,000 baits, mainly in the Hamilton area, but some were also put down around Stratford, “just to prevent the spread of disease,” he noted.
The ministry eliminated the raccoon strain of rabies from Ontario in 2005 and it will probably never know how it returned. The most likely “source of this is a rabid raccoon coming in on a truck or train from the United States,” Davies said. “A lot of stuff comes into the Hamilton area by truck or train.”
Davies said people, including farmers, shouldn’t approach strange animals or pets acting strangely that they don’t know. “Just stay away from wildlife.”
Anyone with pets shouldn’t let them run loose in areas where rabies is present. Legally, dogs and cats must be vaccinated against rabies.
Jamieson said farmers should contact their veterinarian for information about rabies vaccination requirements for livestock. Farmers who take horses, sheep and cattle to competitions or fairs, may need to have the animals vaccinated against rabies depending on whether their area public health department requires it.
If farmers have nuisance animals around their farms, Davies said, they shouldn’t trap them live and transport them a long distance away, because they “run the risk of moving rabies with them.” He recommended not moving an animal more than one kilometre.
“Even through they (the animals) look healthy, they could be carrying rabies,” he explained.
Anyone who thinks they have been exposed to a rabid animal should contact their doctor,” he said. “It’s really important you get post-exposure treatment, which is effective.” BF
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