20/11/2021
Rabies in dogs and cats is uncommon in Canada (thanks, vaccines!). This is a story (below) from Manitoba, but you could write this story here in Vancouver, substituting bats for skunks. We are extremely lucky in only having one rabies carrier locally - bats.
All pets should have at least their first 2 rabies vaccines, including indoor cats. “But,” I hear you say, “my cat never goes outside. She’s on the 7th floor of an apartment building. I don’t believe in overvaccinating!”
Neither do I (or any other educated vet). We know that vaccines made from killed viruses, like the rabies vaccine, tend to give strong, long-lasting immunity. We know that diagnosing rabies in a pet that has had two or more vet-administered rabies vaccines is so rare as to be nearly unheard of. We know that rabies immunity in vaccinated humans (like me) can last decades after the initial vaccine series without further boosting. What we don’t know is exactly how long the immunity from the second rabies vaccine (the “booster”) lasts in animals. It’s labeled for 3 years minimum, but we don’t know the maximum.
I also know that the last four pets I saw with possible rabies exposure are, ironically enough, strictly indoor cats. Three were in high rise apartment buildings, one in a house. Bats fly, sometimes through unscreened windows. Two of these cats had at least two rabies vaccines before and we just gave them each a booster and their lives went on as usual.
The other two were not vaccinated at all. Both had to be vaccinated and had to stay in quarantine at home for 3 months, with at least 2 doors between them and the outside world at all times and no contact with anyone but the owner. One cat lived in a studio apartment, which meant that she had to be shut in the bathroom every time the front door was opened and when the owner had visitors. And if she was in the bathroom, visitors had to find alternate facilities. Both owners were upset anoit the possibility that *they* would end up exposed to this deadly virus. Neither cat ended up having rabies, thank goodness.
So yes, VACCINATE EVERYONE (cats and dogs) for rabies, at least twice. Even indoor cats.
A “Tail” from your Family Vet
I diagnosed my first case of RABIES today…
I’ve been a vet for almost 13 years, and in my career, I can count on one hand how many animals that I’ve submitted for testing for Rabies Virus infection.
Rabies is a reportable disease, so let me present you with a couple of facts from the Manitoba Government website:
January 1 – June 30 2021: number of specimens submitted for testing = 50
Number of positive samples: 8
Species breakdown: 3 skunks, 1 cat, 1 dog, 2 cows, and 1 classified as ‘other domestic’
So let me back up a little: how do we test for Rabies?
Unlike other infectious diseases, there is no blood test or other lab test that will reliably confirm or deny that an animal has Rabies virus infection. The only way to test for it is by careful examination of the brain tissue of the animal.
Let me be clear: an animal has to be dead/destroyed/euthanized to test for Rabies virus infection.
Rabies is a wimpy virus – outside of the body – it is easily killed by disinfection and desiccation.
Inside the body – it behaves similar to a nasty computer virus – traveling from the site of infection over weeks or months to the body’s main-frame, ie: brain, where in a matter of days it takes over control of the animal’s behavior and body functions, ultimately resulting in death of the animal.
And let’s not forget…we humans are animals too…death is what can become of a person infected with Rabies virus.
Rabies virus is spread in the saliva of an infected animal, and is transmitted usually through a bite wound, but can also be transmitted by coming into contact with an open wound or mucus membrane such as the eyes, nose, or mouth.
At this point in time, there is no cure for Rabies Virus Infection.
The only hope for a person to survive infection by Rabies virus is by early confirmation of exposure to the virus and prophylactic therapy, eg: the farmer who handled the confirmed Rabies case in a cow, the family who owns the cat or dog, the veterinary staff who examined and handled the animal.
Once an animal has been confirmed to be Rabid, Manitoba Public Health conducts an investigation into all possible human exposure, and all people considered to be at risk of infection need to be aggressively treated.
But wait a minute…I said there was no treatment…
There is no antiviral drug that will kill the virus circulating in the body.
What is done is that people are given a series of Rabies vaccinations, that basically tells your immune system to seek and destroy the virus. Building your own immune response takes time though, and time is precious as we must destroy the virus before it finds its way to the brain.
So people are also given a series of injections of Rabies antibodies to take immediate action on the virus.
The great news is…we have amazingly effective vaccines to protect animals, including people, from Rabies. All of your friends at Equi-Tech and other veterinary clinics have all been vaccinated as part of their workplace health and safety requirements.
Let me present you with a couple of real-life scenarios that I’ve dealt with this year. I’ll limit the details to protect my clients’ privacy.
The first is the case of: my dogs never leave the yard, so they don’t need to be vaccinated against Rabies virus.
In a perfect world, this would be true. But this is not a perfect world…
Imagine, 7 dogs contained within a fenced-in yard. One day a skunk meanders by and wants to join the pet party. He finds a loose board on the fence, and lets himself in. No dogs got out, but the nasty potentially rabid skunk got in. The big bouncer-dog did his duty of defending the dog party by attacking the skunk, and got scratched and bitten in the process. The skunk got the hint, left his stench and escaped the yard.
The dog who was bit was brought in to see me by the concerned owner. After taking a careful history I discover that this dog had never been vaccinated for Rabies virus.
Now the dilemma: could the skunk have been infected with Rabies virus? No idea. Skunks are the most common carriers of Rabies virus in our area, but it doesn’t mean that every skunk has Rabies. The skunk got away, so there was no chance of assessing the risk to the dogs by destroying the skunk and having the brain tested for Rabies. Were any of the other dogs bitten? The other 6 dogs were not present for examination.
The end result in this case was that all 7 dogs had to be given an initial Rabies vaccination, and a booster 3 weeks later. They also had to be quarantined at home for 3 months, to watch for the development of any symptoms that might suggest that they had indeed been infected with the virus. This meant limited contact with the owner, and no visitors to the property were allowed to interact with the dogs. You can imagine how awful that was for the owner to deal with.
The second case involved a concerned owner who had brought her dog in because he couldn’t close his mouth, and was drooling profusely. He was having some difficulty keeping his balance, and one of his eyes looked funny. Again, in taking a careful history, I discovered that the owner wasn’t sure if her dog had ever had a Rabies vaccination. To her knowledge, the dog had not been in contact with any wildlife, and the other 2 dogs in the home were acting normal.
The dog hadn’t been able to eat or drink for a couple of days, so I admitted the dog to start supportive care and began my search for a diagnosis. Meanwhile, I had the owner investigate by calling her previous vet clinic to get an accurate vaccination history. While conducting our diagnostic testing, we noticed a couple of other things about the dog. He had a faint smell of skunk, and there was an old wound on one of the hind legs. The dog also tried to bite one of my staff, and required a muzzle.
When I heard back from the owner, I learned that the dog had never received a vaccination for Rabies previously. The owner was reminded by her partner that the dog had indeed been in a tousle with a skunk about a month back – hence the smell and the wound.
Immediately, Rabies moved up to the top of my differential list (my list of possible explanations for what was wrong with the dog).
Now came the heartbreaking part: putting it bluntly…
I had to tell the owner that their beloved pet might have Rabies, but I didn’t know for sure, but I would have to kill the pet to find out, and if I didn’t do that and the pet did have Rabies, then he could give it to the owner and the rest of the family, and they could all die from Rabies.
I could also be wrong… I could put the family through the grief of loss for nothing…but I could also be right. The poor family had to come to a quick decision about the life and death of their pet, with no proof, just a theory from someone they barely knew. Just imagine their anguish.
The end result: the family consented to euthanasia. The dog tested positive.
So to wrap this all up, my message is this: Rabies is endemic in Canada. Because of the deadly nature of the virus, all pet owners need to understand the risks that come from the close interactions that we have with our domestic animals. There is a vaccine that we can give to our pets to protect them, and inadvertently protect ourselves from becoming infected.
Please take Rabies seriously, and have your pets vaccinated.
Dr. Valerie Millette, DVM
Equi-Tech Veterinary
Stonewall, MB
