The detection of rabies in a dead animal in the Mont\u00e9r\u00e9gie region comes amid what one veterinarian describes as a \u201creal explosion\u201d of cases among raccoons in Quebec last year.<\/p>\n
Dr. Sarah Annie Gu\u00e9nette, owner of Wizoo veterinary clinics and head veterinarian at the Ecomuseum in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, described rabies as \u201csomething that has always been known and kept under control\u201d in both veterinary and human medicine, and cases are rare.<\/p>\n
But there has been an increased surveillance of potential rabies cases in raccoons near the Quebec-U.S. border over the past three years, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe question is whether our number of rabies cases will start to increase with climate change,\u201d she said in an interview Wednesday. \u201cAnd, since 2024, that has definitely been the case, especially in the Eastern Townships and Mont\u00e9r\u00e9gie regions. That\u2019s when they started seeing cases of raccoon rabies.\u201d<\/p>\n
There was one confirmed case of raccoon rabies in 2024, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then, in 2025, there was a real explosion of cases \u2014 we\u2019re talking about 93 cases of raccoon rabies in Eastern Townships and Mont\u00e9r\u00e9gie regions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gu\u00e9nette\u2019s comments come as Quebec\u2019s Environment, Climate Change, Fauna and Parks Ministry announced Tuesday that rabies was detected in a dead raccoon in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu. The animal was recovered along the west bank of the Richelieu River in the St-Eug\u00e8ne sector after a citizen reported it.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The ministry also posted a video of where raccoons may be along a stream, saying its teams are \u201cin the field conducting a wildlife vaccination campaign\u201d by distributing bait in the Eastern Townships and Mont\u00e9r\u00e9gie regions until May 10.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rabies is a contagious and fatal disease that attacks the nervous system. It can be spread to humans and animals primarily through bites and scratches from an infected animal.\u00a0 The province warns that rabies is one of the \u201cmost serious diseases transmissible to humans because it is fatal as soon as general symptoms appear.\u201d<\/p>\n
Quebec has reported more than 30 confirmed cases of raccoon rabies to date this year on its website, with the overwhelming majority of them in the Mont\u00e9r\u00e9gie region and Eastern Townships.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen wildlife gets a disease, that\u2019s one thing,\u201d Gu\u00e8nette said. \u201cIt\u2019s quite another when domestic animals start catching it. It\u2019s even more serious when humans who come into contact with either wildlife or their domestic animals are directly endangered.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd that\u2019s what we\u2019re starting to see, slowly but surely.\u201d<\/p>\n
Exposed to rabies? Don\u2019t wait to get help<\/p>\n
With climate change, there are more raccoons in Quebec than before, Gu\u00e9nette explained. Due to the warmer temperatures, they tend to migrate further north, and their hibernation periods may not be as long. <\/p>\n
Gu\u00e9nette stressed that \u201cbasically all mammals can have rabies, but currently, it\u2019s mainly raccoons that are carriers.\u201d They can have two kinds of the disease: furious and dumb.<\/p>\n
This means infected raccoons can either show signs of aggression, or they can be more friendly or out and about during the day, even as nocturnal creatures.<\/p>\n
\u201cAny mammal that exhibits abnormal behaviour, that isn\u2019t afraid of humans, is always suspect,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The recommended course of action is not to touch the animal and to immediately contact a municipality\u2019s animal-control department, she said. The department will help ensure contact with Quebec\u2019s wildlife ministry.<\/p>\n
Gu\u00e9nette also noted the importance of prevention, especially among pet owners. Accidents can happen, such as when beloved companions unexpectedly come into contact with infected wildlife. Rabies vaccines run anywhere between $35 to $55 in veterinary clinics, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnimals that live with humans, whether it\u2019s cats, dogs, rabbits, ferrets, must be vaccinated against rabies,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is essential.\u201d<\/p>\n
For any person who has come into contact with an animal that is \u201csuspect,\u201d she said, \u201cdon\u2019t hesitate and go to the emergency room.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce again, don\u2019t take the chance,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a disease that is fatal, and it is irreversible if you wait too long.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hospitals are equipped to quickly handle potential rabies exposure, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe problem is when you wait,\u201d she said, adding that even 24 hours can make a difference to a person\u2019s survival.<\/p>\n
Humans can also be vaccinated against rabies as a preventive measure, but\u00a0Gu\u00e9nette noted it\u2019s expensive.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo get two doses, it\u2019s around $700,\u201d she said. \u201cTo get three doses, it\u2019s around $1,000 for the rabies vaccine. But it\u2019s available in private medicine.\u201d<\/p>\n
What about in Montreal?<\/p>\n
There haven\u2019t been any cases of raccoon rabies in Montreal yet, according to Gu\u00e9nette.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe beauty of Montreal is that it\u2019s an island,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, it\u2019s already more difficult for cases, let\u2019s say raccoons, which would be contagious, to cross the bridges to get to the island.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amid this week\u2019s case in St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, the ministry is urging residents in the Eastern Townships and Mont\u00e9r\u00e9gie region to report any raccoons, skunks or foxes exhibiting abnormal behaviour to 1-877-346-6763 or online at\u00a0quebec.ca\/rageduratonlaveur<\/a>.\u00a0 It is also prohibited in about 150 municipalities for citizens to relocate those animals.<\/p>\n It also urges the public not to touch dead animals or approach wild animals even if they appear sick, injured or orphaned.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The detection of rabies in a dead animal in the Mont\u00e9r\u00e9gie region comes amid what one veterinarian describes…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":653108,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[49,48,295,66],"class_list":["post-653107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=653107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653107\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/653108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=653107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=653107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=653107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}