Fight against raccoon rabies - Maintaining surveillance and calling for public vigilance

QUÉBEC, June 8, 2022 /CNW Telbec/ - The raccoon rabies situation in southern Québec and south of the U.S. border has improved significantly in recent years, and the ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs maintains, for the second year in a row, its decision not to carry out vaccine bait spreading operations in Montérégie. However, enhanced surveillance operations in the Estrie and Montérégie regions are maintained.

Although the risk of a return of raccoon rabies in Québec has been declining significantly since 2015, the Montérégie and Estrie regions continue to be considered areas at risk of reintroduction because of their proximity to the cases detected in the United States each year. Enhanced surveillance operations, maintained in 2022, are an effective and sufficient measure in the continuation of the fight against raccoon rabies in Québec.

In order to ensure proper surveillance and to detect rabies quickly, reports from the public remain the best way to identify affected wildlife. We encourage citizens to report raccoons, skunks, and foxes that are already dead or appear disoriented, injured, abnormally aggressive or paralyzed by calling 1-877-346-6763 or by completing the online form Québec.ca/raccoonrabies.

The Department would also like to emphasize that vigilance should be exercised with respect to the voluntary or involuntary movement of animals that may carry rabies, particularly raccoons. In December 2021, a raccoon transported from North Carolina by a transportation truck without the driver's knowledge was reported and recovered in Estrie as part of enhanced raccoon rabies surveillance. Fortunately, the animal did not have rabies. However, this event reminds us that the threat of translocation of rabies-bearing animals is real, even though cases of raccoon rabies in wildlife are far from Québec. The recent experience in southern Ontario, which has been dealing with an outbreak of raccoon rabies since 2015 following the introduction by translocation of an infected raccoon, highlights this risk. Therefore, a call for vigilance is issued to the entire population, particularly those working in the transport and unloading of goods from other provinces or countries, to report any wild animals found in a vehicle (truck, train, boat, etc.).

• If you have been bitten or scratched by an animal or have come into contact with its saliva, wash the wound with soap and water for at least 10 minutes, even if it seems minor. Promptly contact Info-Santé 811 to ensure a proper follow-up.
• Never approach an unknown wild or domestic animal, even if it seems inoffensive.
• Take steps to avoid attracting wild animals to your property (e.g. putting your outdoor garbage out of animals' reach and avoiding feeding pets outside of the house).
• Avoid moving troublesome wildlife because you could spread diseases such as rabies to other territories.
• Consult a veterinarian to get your pet vaccinated against rabies or if your pet has been in contact with a wild animal that may transmit rabies.

• Rabies is a contagious and fatal disease that affects all mammals. Thus, it can be transmitted to humans by infected animals. In addition to raccoon rabies, other variants of rabies circulate in Québec, including in bats and, in northern Québec, in foxes. Therefore, caution must be exercised at all times and with all mammal species.
• The Plan to fight raccoon rabies has been in effect since 2006, following the discovery of the first raccoon rabies case in Québec.
• Québec has been working with neighbouring U.S. states and provinces for many years. These joint and concerted efforts aim to eliminate raccoon rabies from northeastern North America.
• In the event of the detection of raccoon rabies in Québec or near its borders, the deployment of a contingency plan is defined and allows for a rapid response to contain and limit the spread of the disease.

Related links:

• For additional information on raccoon rabies in Québec: Québec.ca/raccoonrabies.
• For more information on the MFFP and its activities and achievements, visit mffp.gouv.qc.ca and its social media feeds:

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Information:
Media relations
Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs
[email protected]
Tel.: 418-521-3875

SOURCE Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs