An Ontario child died last month after coming into contact with a rabid bat in their bedroom , which was the first known human rabies case in Canada since 2019. Officials warn that bats across the country pose a risk , while the deadly disease is also present in certain populations of skunks, raccoons and foxes. "Rabies has been around for a long time and it's going to be around for a long time," infectious animal disease expert J.
Scott Weesetold CTVNews.ca. "It's present in various wildlife species in Canada, and we're not going to eliminate that.
So it's just a matter of being aware of the risk and what to do." Weese is a professor and chief of infection control at the University of Guelph's Ontario Veterinary College. He says although human rabies cases remain very rare in Canada, without quick medical intervention the disease is "invariably fatal.
" "We've got good ways to control rabies, we have excellent ways to prevent it after exposure," he said. "It's usually just a lack of recognition: someone has an encounter with a wild animal, doesn't realize it might be rabies, so they don't seek out the help that would prevent disease." Here's what you need to know about rabies: How is rabies spread? Infected animals spread the rabies virus through their saliva, most often with a bite.
In the case of the Ontario child, the parents didn't see any signs of bites or scratches after finding the bat and so they didn't seek immediate medical help. "If it's a larger animal and a large.