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One Saskatchewan veterinary clinic is ringing alarm bells after a bat in the province was recently found to have rabies.
In a social media post this week, Brighton Veterinary Clinic warned the rabid bat was found in the RM of Duck Lake.
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The clinic warned clients that keeping their pets’ rabies vaccinations up to date is extremely important and that rabies prevention is simple.
The Government of Saskatchewan runs a rabies response program where private vets collect samples from suspect animals and submit these for rabies testing under direction from the program’s Rabies Risk Assessment Veterinarian (RRAV).
Test results are reported back to the submitting veterinarian and RRAV will also coordinate any response and follow-up activities necessary in the event of a positive rabies test result, the government website says.
What is rabies?
Rabies is a viral disease that attacks the central nervous system of both animals and humans.
Rabies is transmitted through the saliva of an infected animal. While bites are usually the most common form of exposure, rabies can also be transmitted when infected saliva comes into contact with an open wound or scratch, or with the mouth, nose or eyes.
Once transmitted, the virus travels through the nervous system to the brain. There, it multiplies and spreads to the salivary glands, making the animal or person infectious.
Animals in Canada most commonly known for spreading rabies are bats, skunks and foxes.
The incubation period of the virus can vary drastically. Symptoms can appear within two weeks to six months, but in some cases, the incubation period can be much longer.
Once symptoms appear, rabies is almost always fatal.
The best way to prevent pets from contracting rabies is to keep their vaccinations up to date, prevent them from interacting closely with wildlife and, if a pet comes into contact with a wild animal, have it examined by a veterinarian right away.
The federal government says that in Saskatchewan so far this year, 179 samples have been submitted for testing when rabies was suspected. Of those samples, nine tested positive for the virus, all of which were bats.
Are people at risk of catching rabies from bats?
Mark Brigham, a professor of biology at the University of Regina, told Evan Bray earlier this year the only way a person would get bitten is by picking up a bat, and in the rare instance that bat is ill a disease could be transmitted.
“When bats get the virus, they get sick really quite quickly and they die, but in that period, yes, if you pick one up and it has the virus in its saliva, it can pass it on,” Brigham said.
“But it’s also the disease against which we have absolutely the best vaccination that there is. Five little needles in the arm — not shots in the stomach, which stopped 60, years ago — and you will never get rabies, and it won’t be a problem. But you have to do it reasonably quickly, within days after being bitten.”
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