Raccoon rabies is likely headed for Wellington County, according to the local health unit.
“They are right on our southern border of Wellington County,” medical officer of health Dr. Nicola Mercer said at the Nov. 2 Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health meeting.
“It is not a matter of if we’ll get raccoon rabies … I’m pretty confident that we will.”
The rabies strain 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.
Between December 2015 and September 2016, 384 animals were tested within the Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health boundary but there were no positive results as of Nov. 2,
Mercer explained that to a large extent rabid raccoons have been in rural areas but once they move into urban locations there is more chance for human contact.
While Wellington County remains rabies free at this time, Mercer did point out the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry is vaccine-baiting portions of the county in the hopes that raccoons will eat the bait, which is not dangerous to humans or pets.
Wellington County Warden, Minto Mayor and board of health member George Bridge said he’s concerned residents will confuse rabies with distemper because the latter has been present in Minto.
“This worries me because people have kind of got a little lackadaisical about the fact that distemper isn’t rabies,” Bridge said.
Mercer warned it’s always safer to err on the side of caution.
“You can have distemper and rabies too,” she said. “So all animals that are acting unusual, especially now that we have raccoon rabies, we must always assume rabies.
“You’re not going to die from distemper but you can die from rabies.”
Public health is giving the following advice:
– if a person is bitten or scratched by an animal (wild, stray or a domestic pet) 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 rabies hotline at 1-888-574-6656;
– avoid all contact with wild animals, including preventing contact between pets and wildlife; and
– keep dogs and cats current on rabies vaccinations.
