More non-bite-associated rabies
The other day, I wrote about a case of rabies not associated with a bite. An recent article in the Journal of Clinical Virology (Simani et al 2012) describes six other such cases from Iran. Case 1: A...
View ArticleRabies vaccination for travelers
For an almost invariably fatal disease, people sometimes take a surprisingly lax approach to rabies prevention. Much attention is paid to vaccination of pets (well, not by everyone, but it’s pretty...
View ArticleRabies in upstate New York horse
Rabies in horses is pretty rare but far from unheard of, and each case should be a reminder of the need for proper vaccination. The latest US case was a horse in Newport, New York, but I haven’t yet...
View ArticleRabies myth-busters 101: Cats and bats
Rabies is a very serious disease. We’re very lucky in Canada that in most parts of the country the prevalence of this disease is now quite low, in large part due to wildlife control and vaccination...
View ArticleRaccoon rabies…what is exposure?
A recent report about a rabid raccoon in New Brunswick highlights a few different issues regarding rabies exposure, and the marked differences in application and interpretation of various guidelines....
View ArticleMore on rabies and roadkill
A reader recently posed a question about the potential risk of rabies virus exposure from running over a rabid animal. I get the "can I get rabies from touching roadkill?" question regularly, but this...
View Article2013 US rabies recap
It’s that time of year. No, not for snow (although it is snowing here at the moment). It’s time for the annual US rabies surveillance report in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical...
View ArticleUS dog importation and rabies vaccination
I’ve written a lot lately about importation of pets and associated infectious disease issues. A recent paper in the journal Zoonoses and Public Health (Sinclair et al, Dogs entering the United States...
View ArticleOAHN Podcast on Rabies for Ontario Veterinarians
The new Ontario Animal Health Network, developed as part of the OMAFRA-UofG partnership under the Disease Surveillance Plan (DSP), has produced a number of podcasts on important topics for...
View ArticleMore dog travel issues
Importation issues, Part 1 A Facebook post was forwarded to me the other day. It reads “Drove to the airport today to pick up this lovely little girl [puppy] who flew all the way to Montreal from Baku...
View ArticleCraigslist + Rabid puppy = Bad news
There are lots of reasons not to get a puppy from Craigslist. While getting a rabid one isn’t likely, it can happen and result in a lot of trouble. Case and point: A litter of 9 puppies from Henrietta,...
View ArticleCraigslist rabid puppy update
The other day, I wrote about an effort to track down adopters of puppies from a litter in the Clay County, Texas, area after one of the puppies was confirmed to be rabid. At last report, 8 of the 9...
View ArticleNew US CDC dog importation information
CDC has released a new dog importation poster along with an updated importation page on their website. Rules are still pretty lax (but stricter than in Canada), but more effective communication never...
View ArticleRabies socks
When I saw “rabies socks“, my first thought was “someone’s going to be cursing their autocorrect“. Apparently not. The Ontario Association of Veterinary Technicians (OAVT) Rabies Response Program...
View ArticleNew Ontario rabies website
The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) has launched its new (and long-awaited) rabies website. The site includes a section for the public which is an ideal resource for...
View ArticleRabies in a chicken
There are very few absolutes with infectious diseases. The minute we think we are sure about something, a new angle becomes apparent. Regarding rabies, we always say that its host range is mammals, but...
View Article3 More Rabid Raccoons in Hamilton
As they say, when you look you find. After a sick raccoon in Hamilton had an altercation with two dogs last week and subsequently tested positive for rabies, the Ministry of Natural Resources and...
View ArticleImported canine rabies…US
Rabies is a hot topic around here lately, with recent identification of raccoon rabies in the province. That was probably inadvertently introduced via a raccoon sneaking across the boarder. Intentional...
View ArticleRabid Raccoon in Hamilton ON
Last week, a sick raccoon in Hamilton, Ontario got into an altercation with two bull mastiffs in the back of an animal services van. The story quickly hit the media (and social media). Because the...
View ArticleRabies baits and feral cats
The incursion of raccoon rabies in the Hamilton ON area reached a total of 10 confirmed cases as of last week. A map of the current MNRF control zone is available on the OMAFRA website. This is the...
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