The local health unit is urging Wellington County residents to exercise caution around wildlife and be aware that raccoon rabies could be in the county.
“It is most likely in our area; we are surrounded by it, but … we just don’t have a positive specimen yet,” said Jessica Morris, manager of environmental health at Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health.
Raccoon rabies reemerged in the Hamilton region in December 2015, the first time the disease, which attacks the nervous system, has been in Ontario since it was eradicated in 2005.
Since then there have been 10 positive cases in Halton Region, 232 cases in Hamilton, 21 cases in Haldimand County, 17 case in Brant County and 15 cases in the Niagara Region.
However, Wellington is within the surveillance zone.
Morris said county residents need to be vigilant even though there has yet to be a positive case in Wellington.
“If they do see an animal acting oddly it could be distemper or it could be rabies, but always err on the side of caution that it is rabies and call one of the numbers that are provided and just stay away,” Morris said.
“Don’t have a bleeding heart, because your health could be at risk.
“Rabies is a fatal disease so once a human being shows clinical symptoms, it’s very difficult to reverse that.”
She said it’s essential to stay away from wildlife and have pets vaccinated against rabies. However, vaccination isn’t the only line of defense for domestic animals.
“If you’ve got an aggressive raccoon … who’s very sick and goes after a cat it could kill it,” Morris said. “There is that messaging to observe your pets while they are outside.”
Recently there were two stray cats that tested positive for rabies in Hamilton.
“That’s where the concern lies, because the next step is the human population,” Morris said, adding it’s the domestic animal’s vaccine that is protecting humans from sick wildlife.
Morris also noted rabies can present in different ways in different animals. Some animals can seem lethargic and sick, while in other cases the animal can be aggressive.
“It’s not always the frothing at the mouth and the running around in circles and that sort of thing,” she said.
Morris advised county residents to be on the safe side and assume all animals acting strangely could have rabies and:
– if a person is bitten or scratched by an animal call public health at 1-800-265-7293 ext. 4753 from 8:30am to 4:30pm or 1-877-884-8653 after-hours;
– if a pet or livestock is bitten by a wild or stray animal (with no human exposure) contact the veterinarian;
– if a wild or stray animal is behaving oddly or aggressively, call the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry rabies hotline at 1-888-574-6656; and
– if a dead or sick bat is found call the Canadian Wildlife Health Co-op at 1-866-673-4781.
When in doubt, Morris said to call Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health, where staff will be able to connect callers to the correct resource.
If public health is called about an animal that has had no human exposure it’s now able to send the specimen for testing at the Canadian Wildlife Health Co-op in Guelph, Morris said.
