Vet offers low-cost rabies vaccines to raise awareness
Ontario's 13 confirmed rabies cases since December, including three cases involving raccoons in Hamilton and a calf in Perth County, have prompted a Waterloo veterinarian to try to immunize as many pets as possible against the virus.
Ministry of Natural Resources staff and public health authorities are working to contain the outbreak in the wild by dropping vaccine-laced bait and quarantining animals that may have come in contact with the virus. For animals that contract the virus, rabies is usually fatal.
But vet Mara Ashby is working to prevent the disease's spread in pets by offering a low-cost vaccination clinic, and says that it can help people too, in an interview with the CBC's Craig Norris on The Morning Edition on Thursday.
Pet vaccination protects humans
Ashby is a veterinarian with the Carriage Crossing Animal Hospital in Waterloo, and points out that two unvaccinated dogs were exposed to the rabid raccoons in Hamilton. A decision was made not to destroy the dogs, but they have been placed in isolation until they are free of rabies.
Ashby says that people are most likely to contract rabies from a pet that has come in contact with wildlife.
"The fact is, there's no such thing as an exclusively indoor cat," says Ashby.
"During their lifetime they may escape or encounter bats or raccoons that break into the home," she said. "We know that one in four pet owners only takes their pets to a veterinarian for emergencies, meaning the pet is not being vaccinated against rabies," she pointed out.
Herd immunity
Ashby believes there is a lack of understanding about how vaccines work. She stresses that for example, animal rabies and human flu vaccines are very different in their efficacy and perceived benefits.
However, the goal of both medical interventions is to protect "the herd." She says the herd includes all mammals – that means humans too – but since many people don't vaccinate pets against rabies, herd immunity isn't as good as it should be.
The one-day clinic at Ashby's animal hospital in Waterloo runs Sunday (January 17th) by appointment only. The vaccines are being offered at the reduced rate of $25. Pets must be in a carrier or on a leash.