PLEASE SHARE THIS NEWSLETTER WITH YOUR RABIES PROGRAM TEAM AND ALL PUBLIC HEALTH INSPECTORS |
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New RRP Software Tips: Human Exposure Submission Form |
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When submitting multiple animals that have the same victim, original location and collection location you no longer have to submit separate forms. Follow the instructions below to submit more than one animal:
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Open the PHU Rabies Specimen Collection Request Submission Form for Human Exposure Cases
- Indicate the total number of animals being submitted for this case by selecting a number using the up or down arrows at the right of the field named "Number of Animals being Submitted"
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Complete the "Animal Information" section for the 1st animal
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Click on the blue "Add Animal" button that is located at the bottom of the "Animal Information" section.
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A 2nd "Animal Information" section will appear where you will then enter the information for the 2nd animal.
- Continue to click the "Add Animal" button until you have completed the Animal Information section for the total number of animals being tested.
Completing the form this way allows the system to create a unique Provincial Sample ID number for each animal while only having to enter the additional information once (i.e. collection location, victim details, PHU contacts, etc.). This number is required on all laboratory submission forms.
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Rabies Suspect Animals with No Human/Animal Exposure |
The Ministry of Health, OAVT Rabies Response Program, and the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative work in partnership to provide Direct Rapid Immunohistochemistry Testing (DRIT) of wild animals (raccoons, skunks, foxes, coyotes, bats, feral cats) displaying clinical signs of rabies but have had no human or animal exposure.
Prior to submitting a terrestrial wildlife specimen (raccoon, skunk, fox, coyote), you must contact the NDMNRF Rabies Hotline (1-888-574-6656) to ensure they are given the first opportunity to test the animal.
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Rabies in Ontario - NDMNRF Report |
The NDMNRF is reporting on their results of wildlife testing (with no human/animal exposure), surveillance and bait drops. As of May 18th, 2022 the MNRF is reporting a total of 495 cases of raccoon strain and 21 cases of fox strain rabies in Ontario since the outbreak began in December 2015.
In 2022, the NDMNRF has tested a total of 1734 animals. Below are the positive rabies cases as of May 18th, 2022.
The total number of raccoon strain cases since the outbreak began in 2015 are distributed among the following Public Health Units:
- Hamilton: 215 raccoons, 112 skunks, 1 fox, 2 cats
- Haldimand-Norfolk: 30 raccoons, 2 skunks, 1 llama
- Niagara: 42 raccoons, 29 skunks, 1 dog
- Brant: 26 raccoons, 2 skunk
- Halton: 17 raccoons, 9 skunks
- Waterloo: 2 skunks
The total number of fox strain cases since the outbreak began in 2015 are distributed among the following Public Health Units:
- Perth: 6 cows, 2 skunks
- Huron: 1 cow, 3 skunks
- Waterloo: 1 fox, 5 skunks
- Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph: 3 skunks
The last case of fox strain rabies was detected in 2018. No cases have been detected in 2019-2021.
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CFIA Report on Rabies in Canada |
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has a website with statistics on all rabies cases in Canada (including the MNRF cases reported above) dating back to 1988. They update their website on the 28th day of each month.
As of April 30th, 2022 there has been a total of 617 animals submitted acrss the country, including 385 which were submitted by Ontario. Of these cases, 45 were positive for rabies, including 9 that were from Ontario.
The rabies positive cases in Ontario are distributed among the following species:
Visit the CFIA website for more information on rabies in Canada.
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COVID Restrictions Dropped by CFIA and Purolator |
Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic the CFIA Laboratory had reduced their rabies testing schedule to 4 days a week, Tuesday to Friday. We received confirmation that they have now returned to their regular testing schedule of Monday thru Friday, 8:30am-4:00pm.
Purolator
During the height of the pandemic Purolator was forced to remove their guarantee for delivery due to staff shortages and the significant increase in the demand for their services. Just recently, Purolator has reinstated their delivery guarantee.
Please keep in mind, this is due to a reduced number of delays but will not eliminate all delays. We will still encounter the occasional delay due to mechanical or routing issues. We monitor the online tracking closely for every package and will always update the Public Health Inspector as soon as we are aware of any delay.
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Do You Have Enough Shipping Supplies? |
We are starting to see an increase in the number of daily collection requests and are fast approaching our busiest time of year (July/August). It is important that you maintain on-hand inventory for the shipping supplies as RVTs will be in need of replenishment more often.
RVTs require 2 sizes of bags, 2 sizes of boxes and rigid ice packs. When we start to hit the warmer temperatures in July and August RVTs will need to use 2-3 ice packs per shipment; therefore, it is crucial that you have them in stock for RVTs.
Example of shipping supplies needed for:
Bat
- 4 small bags
- 1-2 ice packs (depending on temperature)
- 1 small box
Large Dog
- 3 large bags
- 1 small bag
- 1 large box
- 2-3 ice packs
Shipping supplies have been procured to meet the regulations under the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act while keeping shipping costs to a minimum. It is important that only these selected supplies be provided to RVTs.
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Rabies Vaccines Clinics were put on hold at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are happy to see that they are starting to make a come back.
The Rabies Response Program continues to maintain the Rabies Vaccine web page and associated Facebook page. This is a central area where we can post details of rabies vaccine clinics happening across the entire province.
If you would your event to be included on our web/Facebook page then please email the following information to rrp@oavt.org:
- Location of the clinic
- Date and time
- Cost and methods of payment accepted
- Requirements (i.e. all dogs must be leashed, all cats must be in a carrier)
- An image or PDF for the event
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The OAVT Public Health Rabies Response Program
107-100 Stone Rd West
Guelph, ON
N1G 5L3
1-844-8RABIES
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