Public health officials address rabies cases in British Columbia and Quebec
What happened
Public health officials in British Columbia and Quebec are managing incidents of rabies in wild animals that have had contact with humans or domestic pets.
In Vancouver, public health officials are dealing with a single skunk in relation to rabies.
An outbreak of rabies among raccoons in parts of Quebec has resulted in the transmission of the virus to three cats.
Why it matters
Rabies is a direct zoonosis, meaning it is an infectious disease that can be transmitted from animals to humans, posing a potential risk to public health when wild animals interact with domestic pets or people.
Context
A zoonosis is defined as an infectious disease caused by a pathogen transmitted from a non-human animal to a human.
Approximately 61% of the 1,415 pathogens known to infect humans are classified as zoonotic.
Sources 3 sources
This briefing cites 2 publishers across 2 detected independent reporting streams. Some cited articles appear to be syndicated or near-duplicate coverage, so they are not counted as separate corroboration.
- Citynews Calgary We’re hearing more about rabies in the news. Here’s what to know about the virus
- The Standard We're hearing more about rabies in the news. Here's what to know about the virus Detected as syndicated or near-duplicate coverage.
- Wikipedia Zoonosis Background reference · Wikipedia text used under CC BY-SA 4.0.