Ontario faces re-emergence of rabies in raccoons

The last 15 months have seen a rise in cases of raccoons with rabies in Ontario after there hadn't been a single reported case in 10 years.

Unfortunately, it's not just nature's masked bandits being infected; skunks and potentially foxes are being reported as carriers of the disease.

Jessica Morris, the Manager of Health Protection for Public Health Services, told CBC Kitchener-Waterloo that the reason for the re-emergence of the disease could be as simple as an infected raccoon hitching a ride across the Canada-U.S. border.

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Rabies is a lethal disease that is passed through the saliva of the infected. It could spread through bites and scratches but can also be transmitted if the saliva comes into contact with the eyes, mouth, or nose.

"Once the virus enters the body it has to make its way up to the brain. And once it hits the brain the clinic signs whether that aggressive or like a sick/dumb rabies it's essentially too late for the animal," said Morris. "So we obviously don't want it to get into the human population so we're monitoring the animal population."

Symptoms also include an inability to move parts of the body, and loss of consciousness. It can take anywhere from one week to a year for symptoms to show. The chances of death increases exponentially once the symptoms do appear.

Morris said the best way for people to prevent the disease from spreading is to get their pets vaccinated, as well as to be careful when outdoors. People who work with wildlife or spend a lot of time with wild animals in the outdoors should also consider being vaccinated. She also stressed that pet owners should be wary about letting their animals outside unsupervised.

Should residents see a potentially infected animal, they are asked to contact Animal Services immediately.