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December 05, 2022, 10:50 AM
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Public health officials in B.C. and Quebec are dealing with rabies in wild animals that have come into contact with people or domestic pets. In Vancouver, it was a single skunk but in parts of Quebec, there is an outbreak of rabies in raccoons that has transmitted the virus to three cats.
On Friday, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), which is responsible for national rabies surveillance, said that the number of animal cases fluctuates from year to year, but preliminary data suggests "increased rabies activity in raccoons, particularly in Quebec, is a major factor contributing to the higher number of confirmed rabies cases reported this year."
Between January and September of this year, 397 laboratory-confirmed rabies cases in animals were reported to the CFIA. In 2025, there were 281 cases in the entire year.
Public health officials emphasize that rabies infections in humans are still "extremely rare."
Here's what you need to know.
WHAT IS RABIES?
Rabies is a viral infection that affects the nervous system, including the brain. In Canada, rabies infections in humans are rare, but almost always fatal if it's not treated before symptoms develop.
The virus infects the nerves around the site where it entered the body and then makes its way into the spinal cord and brain, ultimately leading to death.
HOW IS IT TRANSMITTED?
Rabies is transmitted to humans when they are bitten or scratched by an infected animal. Saliva is the most common source of transmission. In Canada, wild animals such as bats, skunks, raccoons and foxes are the main carriers of rabies, but they can transmit it to pets such as cats or dogs and farm animals.
Bats are the main carrier of rabies in Canada. Experts urge people to see a health-care provider if they've had suspected contact with any bat because their bites or scratches are tiny and might go unnoticed.
People should also seek medical attention immediately if they have come into contact with other animals that may have rabies.
On Wednesday, Vancouver Coastal Health issued a news bulletin about a skunk with rabies that had bitten a "small" number of people in Vancouver. Those people were treated and the health authority urged anyone who may have been bitten or scratched by a skunk in the city's West End neighbourhood between Sept. 22 and Oct. 17 to contact them.
The government of Quebec has reported an outbreak of rabies in raccoons and is continuing to do surveillance. Its latest count available online is 313 confirmed raccoons with rabies in the province since the beginning of the year. Three cats have been infected through raccoons.
WHAT IS THE TREATMENT?
There is no treatment for animals with rabies. The only way for the infection to be confirmed in animals is to examine the brain after death.
Humans must receive treatment before symptoms appear, which usually happens about three to eight weeks after exposure, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.
People should thoroughly wash the area where they were bitten or scratched with soap and water and seek medical attention immediately.
The treatment is a series of vaccines and an immunoglobulin injection.
The first rabies vaccine shot is given immediately, followed by shots on days three, seven and 14.
The immunoglobulin injection, a ready-made antibody that starts fighting the virus right away, is also administered because it takes time for the body to mount an immune response from the vaccinations.
Side effects of the vaccine are usually mild and temporary. They can include fever, chills, sweats and feeling unwell.

WHAT ARE SOME WAYS TO PROTECT PEOPLE AND PETS?
The Wildlife Rescue Association of BC said in a news release on Friday that the most effective prevention strategy for people is to "avoid direct physical contact with wildlife, particularly animals that appear sick, injured, unusually aggressive, lethargic, or disoriented."
The association also urged people to make sure their pets are up to date on their rabies vaccinations and to "keep them leashed and supervised outdoors to help prevent contact with wildlife."
HOW COMMON IS RABIES DEATH IN HUMANS?
There have been 28 deaths from rabies in humans reported since 1924.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2026.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
By Nicole Ireland | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Sadie Vipond was 7 when her grandmother woke her in the middle of the night, and they fled their home. Outside, Calgary was in the midst of its largest flood in more than a century. They went to a friend’s place on higher ground as surging waters cut short the school year. At the city’s zoo, water rose high enough for a hippo to swim out of its enclosure — a memory that stays with her 13 years later.
Next week, she will testify in Canada’s first federal youth-led climate trial — a lawsuit she joined at 13. She’s one of 15 young Canadian plaintiffs in La Rose v. His Majesty the King, which will run for four weeks in Vancouver.
The plaintiffs from seven provinces, the Northwest Territories and Yukon were all between the ages of 10 and 19 when the case began. They are arguing that Canada is putting young people’s health, safety and futures at risk by supporting fossil fuel development while repeatedly missing its emissions targets. They want the court to require the government to develop and carry out a climate recovery plan that protects their constitutional rights.
“This was a way to share my voice, to influence our governments without having the ability to vote,” Vipond said.
The case is reaching the trial stage after seven years of legal motions and appeals, including federal efforts to have it dismissed. Many plaintiffs were barely teenagers when they joined and have grown into adulthood waiting for their day in court.
Now, they have more to lose. Some have taken outdoor jobs, where staying inside to escape wildfire smoke can mean going unpaid. East Coast plaintiffs, who had never experienced wildfire smoke when the case began, now encounter it regularly, said Andrea Rodgers, deputy director of US strategy at Our Children’s Trust, which supports the case.
One plaintiff has since become a mother and will testify during the trial’s first week. “Now, it’s not just about protecting her rights and her future,” Rodgers said. “It’s about ensuring that her son can grow up and thrive in a healthy environment.”
Extreme heat and wildfire smoke have limited Vipond’s ability to bike to school and exercise outdoors. Now a third-year environmental sciences student at the University of British Columbia, she said her studies have helped her recognize changes around her — from increasingly dangerous snow conditions to pine beetles destroying an entire hillside.
“A lot of people think that climate change is like a long, slow evolution of changes,” Vipond said. “However, we’re really seeing it from year to year at this point.”
Vipond’s experience reflects a broader reality for young people coming of age as climate change dictates how they imagine and plan their lives. A study published in 2023 found that nearly two in five Canadians aged 16 to 25 said climate change made them hesitant to have children.
That concern also shows up in their politics. In July, a poll found that one in four respondents aged 18 to 34 ranked climate change and the environment among their top three issues, compared with 16 per cent of those older than 55.
The climate risks extend across their lives. At 1.5 C of warming, over half of children born in 2020 would face unprecedented lifetime heatwave exposure, compared with 16 per cent of those born in 1960, a global study projected in 2025.
Rodgers has spent 15 years representing young people in US climate cases, including Juliana v. United States. Its 21 young plaintiffs spent nearly a decade arguing that federal energy policies violated their constitutional rights. The case never reached trial after an appeals court ruled that judges lacked the power to order and oversee the climate recovery plan the plaintiffs sought. She hopes Canada will deliver what those young Americans were denied.
The Canadian trial will also test how international law informs that duty. In July 2025, the International Court of Justice affirmed that governments must protect the climate system to safeguard human rights. Rodgers said the Canadian court could use that advisory opinion to help justify an order requiring climate action, and set an example for courts in other countries.
“Canada really has a choice,” Rodgers said. “Do they want to follow in the path of the United States or forge their own path, one that protects the rights of their own children?”
Vipond joined the lawsuit out of fear for her own future. As she heads to court next week, she said she now feels responsible for speaking for other children too young to vote and generations yet to be born.
People have asked whether she and the other plaintiffs would receive money if they win. She tells them they are seeking accountability rather than a payout.
“Hope is really hard to hold on to sometimes,” Vipond said. “But we’re all fighting to keep it.”
Sonal Gupta / Local Journalism Initiative / Canada's National Observer.
Copyright 2026, Canada's National Observer. All rights reserved.
Sonal Gupta, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada's National Observer.
Sadie Vipond was 7 when her grandmother woke her in the middle of the night, and they fled their home. Outside, Calgary was in the midst of its largest flood in more than a century. They went to a friend’s place on higher ground as surging waters cut short the school year. At the city’s zoo, water rose high enough for a hippo to swim out of its enclosure — a memory that stays with her 13 years later.
Next week, she will testify in Canada’s first federal youth-led climate trial — a lawsuit she joined at 13. She’s one of 15 young Canadian plaintiffs in La Rose v. His Majesty the King, which will run for four weeks in Vancouver.
The plaintiffs from seven provinces, the Northwest Territories and Yukon were all between the ages of 10 and 19 when the case began. They are arguing that Canada is putting young people’s health, safety and futures at risk by supporting fossil fuel development while repeatedly missing its emissions targets. They want the court to require the government to develop and carry out a climate recovery plan that protects their constitutional rights.
“This was a way to share my voice, to influence our governments without having the ability to vote,” Vipond said.
The case is reaching the trial stage after seven years of legal motions and appeals, including federal efforts to have it dismissed. Many plaintiffs were barely teenagers when they joined and have grown into adulthood waiting for their day in court.
Now, they have more to lose. Some have taken outdoor jobs, where staying inside to escape wildfire smoke can mean going unpaid. East Coast plaintiffs, who had never experienced wildfire smoke when the case began, now encounter it regularly, said Andrea Rodgers, deputy director of US strategy at Our Children’s Trust, which supports the case.
One plaintiff has since become a mother and will testify during the trial’s first week. “Now, it’s not just about protecting her rights and her future,” Rodgers said. “It’s about ensuring that her son can grow up and thrive in a healthy environment.”
Extreme heat and wildfire smoke have limited Vipond’s ability to bike to school and exercise outdoors. Now a third-year environmental sciences student at the University of British Columbia, she said her studies have helped her recognize changes around her — from increasingly dangerous snow conditions to pine beetles destroying an entire hillside.
“A lot of people think that climate change is like a long, slow evolution of changes,” Vipond said. “However, we’re really seeing it from year to year at this point.”
Vipond’s experience reflects a broader reality for young people coming of age as climate change dictates how they imagine and plan their lives. A study published in 2023 found that nearly two in five Canadians aged 16 to 25 said climate change made them hesitant to have children.
That concern also shows up in their politics. In July, a poll found that one in four respondents aged 18 to 34 ranked climate change and the environment among their top three issues, compared with 16 per cent of those older than 55.
The climate risks extend across their lives. At 1.5 C of warming, over half of children born in 2020 would face unprecedented lifetime heatwave exposure, compared with 16 per cent of those born in 1960, a global study projected in 2025.
Rodgers has spent 15 years representing young people in US climate cases, including Juliana v. United States. Its 21 young plaintiffs spent nearly a decade arguing that federal energy policies violated their constitutional rights. The case never reached trial after an appeals court ruled that judges lacked the power to order and oversee the climate recovery plan the plaintiffs sought. She hopes Canada will deliver what those young Americans were denied.
The Canadian trial will also test how international law informs that duty. In July 2025, the International Court of Justice affirmed that governments must protect the climate system to safeguard human rights. Rodgers said the Canadian court could use that advisory opinion to help justify an order requiring climate action, and set an example for courts in other countries.
“Canada really has a choice,” Rodgers said. “Do they want to follow in the path of the United States or forge their own path, one that protects the rights of their own children?”
Vipond joined the lawsuit out of fear for her own future. As she heads to court next week, she said she now feels responsible for speaking for other children too young to vote and generations yet to be born.
People have asked whether she and the other plaintiffs would receive money if they win. She tells them they are seeking accountability rather than a payout.
“Hope is really hard to hold on to sometimes,” Vipond said. “But we’re all fighting to keep it.”
Sonal Gupta / Local Journalism Initiative / Canada's National Observer.
Copyright 2026, Canada's National Observer. All rights reserved.
Sonal Gupta, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Canada's National Observer.