{"id":1739,"date":"2019-10-09T17:20:47","date_gmt":"2019-10-09T17:20:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summeridgeanimalclinic.com\/blog\/?p=1739"},"modified":"2021-11-29T16:04:34","modified_gmt":"2021-11-29T16:04:34","slug":"education-communication-the-keys-to-rabies-prevention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.summeridgeanimalclinic.com\/blog\/education-communication-the-keys-to-rabies-prevention\/","title":{"rendered":"Education & Communication: The Keys to Rabies Prevention"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Rabies may sound like a disease of the past, but with Canada\u2019s first rabies-related human death since 2012, the fear is very real \u2013 and very close. Bats are the most common source of rabies, as the tragic loss of life in British Columbia proved. However, coyotes, raccoons, skunks, foxes, and other mammals can transmit the virus through a single bite. 
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Perhaps now more than ever, rabies prevention (in people and pets) is an important endeavor that Summeridge Animal Clinic supports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Rabies Prevention and the Law<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In Ontario, the rabies vaccine is required by law in pets ages 3 months and older. Boosters and subsequent vaccinations should be conducted on a regimented schedule for optimal protection<\/a>. In people that are considered high risk, or in those that were bitten by a rabid animal, the vaccine is the only way to prevent the virus.
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Without post-exposure prophylaxis, rabies spreads to the brain and is fatal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raising Awareness<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Rabies is a virus that is transmitted through the saliva of an infected animal via a bite wound. Public health departments do a great deal of legwork to reduce rabies in some wild animal populations, but it is very difficult to eradicate the virus in bats. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What To Do<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In the recent case, a bat collided with a young man in broad daylight. This was odd in and of itself, but the bat somehow managed to break the skin on his hand. The victim didn\u2019t realize he was at risk until symptoms appeared 6 weeks later. By the time the disease was confirmed<\/a>, treatment was no longer possible.
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If you think you\u2019ve been exposed to rabies:
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