Environment

Rabies

Key Messages
Human Rabies Disease
Animal Rabies Disease
Rabies Surveillance in Animals
Animals Involved in Potential Rabies Exposure Incidents
Animal Rabies Vaccination
Post-Exposure Prophylaxis
Technical Notes

Key Messages

The number of rabies exposure incidents investigated by the health unit has been increasing since 2015.
Rabies program activities at the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit were modified in 2020.
Human rabies infection is very rare in Canada. There was one fatal human case of rabies in British Columbia in 2019.
In 2022, there were three bats in Simcoe Muskoka that tested positive for rabies.
Two-thirds of animals involved in potential rabies exposure incidents in Simcoe Muskoka were dogs. Over half (55%) of these dogs were vaccinated against rabies.
In 2021, the health unit supported low cost rabies clinics which vaccinated over 650 pets against rabies.
The number of people who received post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) to prevent the development of the rabies disease has been increasing since 2015.
2019 was an unusual year with a higher number of investigations and PEP administrations than expected. This is likely in response to the human rabies case in British Columbia.

Human Rabies Disease

Rabies is a fatal disease in humans. Fortunately, human cases of rabies are rare in Canada.
In 2019, there was a fatal human case of rabies infection in British Columbia. This was associated with local contact with a bat.
The last human case of rabies in Ontario was in 2012, associated with animal exposure outside of Canada.
The last locally acquired case in Ontario was in 1967, over 50 years ago.

Animal Rabies Disease

In 2022, there were three bats from Simcoe County that tested positive for rabies. One was submitted by the health unit and two were captured locally but submitted for testing by our partner agencies.
Bats have previously tested positive for rabies in the Simcoe and Muskoka regions in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2020.
In 2021, there was a dog that tested positive for rabies.
There were 61 animals across Ontario that tested positive for rabies in 2022.
From 2016 to 2018 the majority of rabies cases in Ontario were reported in raccoons, starting in 2019 this transitioned to bats representing the largest group.

SM_AnimalRabiesCases_2015to2022

ON_AnimalRabiesCases_2015to2022

Rabies Surveillance in Animals

More animals were submitted for testing by the health unit in 2022 than in any previous year at 128 animals. This is higher than the average of 75 animals submitted each year over the previous five years.
In 2022, 27 bats were submitted for testing by the health unit, an increase from 19 bats in 2021 and 25 bats in 2020.
Increased testing of bats in recent years likely stems from concerns related to a fatal human case of rabies in 2019 in British Columbia that was associated with a bat encounter.
Over half of animals submitted for testing each year are dogs and cats, most of which are domestic pets.

SM_AnimalsSubmittedForRabiesTest_2015to2022

Animals Involved in Potential Rabies Exposure Incidents

In 2022, nearly two-thirds (65%) of animals investigated for potential rabies exposure incidents were dogs. Only 13% of animals were wildlife.
Other animals involved in potential rabies exposure investigations included cats, bats, raccoons and other wild and domestic animals.
In 2022, 57% of dogs involved in investigations were vaccinated, similar to previous years.
Overall, 40% of animals involved in potential rabies exposure investigations were cats and dogs that were unvaccinated or for which rabies vaccination status was unknown.

RabiesExposuresByVaccinationStatus_2022

Animal Rabies Vaccination

In 2022, the health unit supported seven low cost rabies vaccination clinics, provided by five veterinarians.
Over 800 animals, mostly dogs (73%), were vaccinated by these clinics.
There were fewer clinics in 2022 (7) and 2020 (7), compared with 2019 where 22 clinics vaccinated approximately 2,750 animals.

Post-Exposure Prophylaxis

There were nearly 1,600 potential rabies exposure investigations in 2022, and rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) was administered in response to over 230 of these incidents.
The proportion of incidents where PEP is administered has been increasing over recent years, from 7% in 2015 to 15% in 2022.
Roughly one third (32%) of the incidents where PEP was administered involved bats in 2022, a decrease from 51% in 2019 and 43% in 2020.
Dogs were involved in a higher proportion of incidents where PEP was administered in 2021 and 2022 (27%) compared to recent years (average of 20% in 2018, 2019 and 2020).
Nearly two-thirds (63%) of incidents that led to PEP administration involved contact with wildlife including bats, raccoons and rodents. This is similar to previous years.

RabiesPEPAdministration_2015to2022

RabiesPEPbyAnimal2022

Technical Notes

Rabies is a fatal disease caused by the rabies virus which infects humans and other mammals. The virus is transmitted when viruses in the saliva of an infected animal comes into contact with blood or mucous membranes of other animals, this is usually through a bite or sometimes a scratch. Fortunately, due to strong rabies prevention and control activities, human cases are rare in Canada.

By law, all dogs, cats and ferrets must be vaccinated against rabies, even pets that are indoor only. Livestock (e.g. cows, sheep) that are exposed to the public such as those at petting zoos and pony rides must also be vaccinated. The health unit collects information about vaccination status of animals involved in potential rabies exposure investigations, but it is unknown what proportion of all pets are vaccinated against rabies.

When a person reports an animal bite or scratch to the health unit, the health unit may suggest they contact a healthcare provider to discuss rabies post-exposure prophylaxis or PEP for preventing the development of the rabies disease.

When an animal that has been involved in a biting incident is suspected to be infected with and is potentially at risk of transmitting the rabies virus, the health unit may arrange for the animal to be tested for rabies through the Canadian Food Inspection Agency laboratory. Animal testing may also be arranged by veterinarians with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) in cases where the animal has not bitten or potentially exposed a human to rabies, and wildlife rabies surveillance may be conducted by wildlife organizations such as the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative. Regardless of which agency submits an animal for testing, all animals with positive rabies test results are to be reported to the health unit. This information is used for surveillance purposes and to understand risks to human health.