Rabies surveillance and control

The Ontario government is continuing rabies surveillance and control operations to prevent the spread of rabies and to help keep wildlife, people and pets safe.

Find out more about how we are protecting Ontario and the rabies control operations.

Overview

Rabies is a dangerous disease which can infect any mammal including humans, pets, livestock and wildlife.

Once clinical signs of rabies show, it is almost always fatal. If rabies is left unchecked, it can spread at a rate of 50 kilometres per year.

Since 1989, we have been working to control and eliminate terrestrial wildlife rabies (raccoon and fox variant rabies) in Ontario through:

Signs of rabies

There are 2 forms of rabies in animals:

  • dumb form
  • furious form

Some animals can show signs of both forms.

Dumb form

Animals with the dumb form of rabies may:

  • lose their fear of humans
  • become depressed and retreat to isolated places
  • become partially paralyzed (watch for abnormal facial expression, drooling, drooping head, sagging jaw, strange sounds or paralysis in the hind limbs that spreads to the rest of the body)

Furious form

Animals with the furious form of rabies may:

  • be extremely excited and aggressive
  • gnaw at and bite their own limbs
  • attack other objects or animals
  • be alternately agitated and depressed

Many clinical signs of rabies are similar to canine distemper. Animals can also be infected with distemper and rabies at the same time.

You cannot tell what is wrong with an animal just by looking at it. Signs of illness or unusual behaviour can have multiple causes and can only be diagnosed by testing through an accredited lab.

How rabies spreads

Rabies is a virus that can spread from an infected mammal to any other mammal, including humans, pets, livestock and wildlife.

Rabies is spread when saliva, brain or spinal cord tissue from an infected animal comes in contact with a fresh open cut or wound (like a bite) or a mucous membrane (eye, nose or mouth). Typically, it is spread through bites that break the skin.

Rabies cannot be transmitted through contact with the blood, urine or feces of an infected animal.

Wildlife that carry rabies

In Ontario, the most common carriers of rabies are:

Photos of a raccoon.

Raccoons

 

Photos of a fox.

Bats

 

Photos of a skunk.

Skunks

 

Photos of a bat.

Foxes

 

Other wildlife that have occasionally tested positive for rabies in Ontario are:

  • beaver
  • black bear
  • elk (from a zoo)
  • field mouse
  • fisher
  • groundhog
  • hare
  • mink
  • muskrat
  • otter
  • rabbit
  • weasel
  • white-tailed deer
  • wild boar (wild released)

Coyotes, wolves and opossums are susceptible to rabies but are rarely infected in Ontario.

Recently imported animals, especially dogs, from high-risk countries are also a risk for canine-variant rabies.

Non-mammals, including fish, birds, reptiles and amphibians (such as frogs and toads) can not get rabies.

Read about rabies cases detected in Ontario.

Bats

Bats are an important part of ecosystems and play an essential role in insect pest control.

Bats are common carriers of the rabies virus in Ontario and North America.

Bats have small, needle-like teeth and claws. Bites or scratches from a bat can easily go undetected. Any bat you may have been exposed to should be considered rabid unless it is captured and tests negative for rabies.

Learn more about preventing conflict with bats.

Vaccination and wild bats

There is no practical way to vaccinate wild bats against rabies.

To be effective, animals must chew the oral rabies vaccine bait. The vaccine will not work for bats because they feed on insects.

The best way to protect people and pets from bat rabies is:

  • public education
  • pet vaccination

Report unusual bat deaths:

To report any unusual bat deaths, contact the Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre either:

Rabies Cases

Find information on rabies cases in Canada, including bats, on: 

Rabies variants in Ontario

The main rabies variants found in Ontario include:

  • Arctic fox variant
  • Mid-Atlantic raccoon variant
  • several bat variants

While these variant are named for their most common carrier, all variant of rabies are dangerous and can cause rabies in mammals including humans, pets and livestock.

Arctic fox variant rabies

Arctic fox variant rabies is widespread across Arctic and sub-Arctic habitats, including along Ontario’s Hudson and James Bay coastlines. The risk to wildlife, especially foxes, is always present in this region.

In the 1950s, Arctic fox rabies migrated south into Southern Ontario. Between 1958 and the start of Ontario’s rabies control program in 1989, almost 50,000 Arctic fox variant rabies cases were reported in the province. There were also 3 human deaths. No cases have been detected in Southern Ontario since 2018 due to rabies control operations.

Mid-Atlantic raccoon variant rabies

Mid-Atlantic raccoon variant rabies is common and widespread along the eastern United States. It has crossed into Ontario from New York State twice. In 1999, it crossed into Eastern Ontario in the Brockville area, and the outbreak was eliminated by 2005. In 2015, it crossed into Southern Ontario in the Hamilton area and control operations kept it contained within 65 kilometres of the first case. There have been no cases detected since 2023.

Bat variant rabies

Bat variants of rabies persist at low levels across Ontario. Approximately 7% of bats submitted for testing have rabies, however, bats submitted for testing are those that are found sick, dead or had suspected contact with people or domestic animals. Therefore, the overall percentage of rabid bats in the wild is likely lower. Bats are difficult to vaccinate against rabies, as they feed on insects. Public education and pet vaccination are the best strategies for protecting people and pets from bat rabies.

Learn more about rabies cases in Ontario and what we are doing to prevent and control raccoon and fox rabies.

Help stop rabies

You can help to stop the spread of rabies by:

  • checking your cargo, truck, boat and trailer for stowaway wildlife like raccoons, especially if you’re leaving the United States or Quebec
  • removing food sources around your home that might attract wildlife, including pet food
  • contacting local animal control if you find a wild animal in your house, truck or cargo
  • not releasing wildlife without approval from the ministry
  • never trapping and relocating wildlife. It’s important to never move wild animals more than one kilometre
photo of raccoon behind the wheel of a car

Photo credit: Carol Gregory

Descriptive transcript: Can wild animals be moved or relocated

Report a rabid wild animal

If you suspect a wild animal may have rabies and:

  1. humans have been exposed, report the incident to your local health unit, doctor or local emergency department.
  2. a domestic animal may have been exposed, call your veterinarian.
  3. neither a human nor a domestic animal has been exposed, and the animal is alive and it can be done safely, confine the animal and then call one of the following:
  4. neither a human nor a domestic animal has been exposed and the animal is dead, call the ministry's Wildlife Health Information Line at 1-888-574-6656.
  5. the animal is a dead bat, contact the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative at 1-866-673-4781 or report using their online reporting tool.

Descriptive transcript: What do I do if I suspect an animal has rabies