A skunk that bit a number of people in downtown Vancouver has tested positive for rabies.
Vancouver Coastal Health issued a news release notifying the public of the confirmed case on Wednesday.
It says the small number of people bitten by the skunk have been assessed and received rabies vaccinations and immunoglobulin to prevent the viral infection that affects the brain and nervous system.
The health authority says rabies virus is found in the saliva of infected animals and can be transmitted through a bite or a scratch from an infected animal.
But it notes the virus is not transmitted through exposure to the spray, urine or feces of infected skunks.
Anyone who may have been bitten or scratched by a sick or abnormally behaving skunk in the city’s West End neighbourhood between Sept. 22 and Oct. 17, are being asked to contact Vancouver Coastal Health for assessment.
The release says anyone who lives outside the region should contact their local health authority for assessment.
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