By Rick Pusiak
The number of confirmed rabies cases in the Sudbury area this year now stands at 25, and at least 36 people have now undergone treatment for rabies exposure.
Last weekend local police shot and killed a fox near the residence buildings at Laurentian University.
Tests are being conducted on the carcass to determine if the animal was indeed rabid.
It is suspected that the fox was the same animal that attacked two university students earlier. One student was bitten. The other came in contact with the fox's saliva.
About a week ago two cross-country skiers were also attacked by a fox on Countryside Road. They managed to kill the animal with their ski poles.
"Within the city it's really a cause for concern," said Tim Worton, manager of environmental health at the Sudbury and District Health Unit.
"It doesn't matter where you are within the city right now. There is that potential that there is a wild animal out there somewhere that has rabies."
Worton strongly advised pet owners to make sure their dog or cat is vaccinated annually. There is also a three-year vaccination on the market.
"It's a bad year, no doubt about that," said Worton.
"Ten years ago, from 1989 to 1992, it wasn't too pleasant either. It just happens right now the fox population is so high and it's within such a densely populated area within the city. You have a lot of pets out there coming into contact (with wild rabid animals), you have people coming into contact, so it's constantly in the news."
When rabies is confined to rural areas infected animals normally quickly die off in the bush without spreading the virus over a large area.
Generally wild animals will stay away from humans, but if the virus has reached the brain it affects normal instincts.
People who spot a dead animal in the bush or their back yard should leave the carcass alone and call the health unit at 522-9200.
"If your dog encounters a fox and they have a fight or something like that do not handle the dog afterwards if it has wounds," said Worton.
"Definitely report it to us. From the human health aspect what you want to do is limit any possible contact with saliva. The blood isn't really an issue, but saliva is and if it enters through a break in the skin then we would look at possible exposure to the virus."
Worton urges pet owners to keep cats indoors at night and to keep dogs leashed.
"Otherwise they may not come back. Or if it does come back and seems to be beaten up, it may have met its match out there with a fox."
Worton said it now appears the rabies virus is moving west.
An epidemic started in March of last year in Onaping Lake. It worked its way into Chelmsford, took a big jump to the Noelville-Monetville area before finally being reported in Sudbury in the last little while.
Rabies shots are mandated by provincial law in this and other areas of Ontario. Charges can and will be laid if an animal is found to be not vaccinated.
Individuals who fear they have been exposed to rabies should consult with a physician or the health unit.
Post exposure treatment for the virus involves five needles of vaccine over a period of a month.
Initially individuals get one vaccine shot and, according to their body weight, a quantity of a rabies immune globulin.
That's a blood product which provides an immediate boost to the immune system.
The heavier a person is, the more rabies immune globulin, they receive.
It is an expensive procedure, about $1,000 to $2,000 per person for the whole series. The cost is covered by the province.
The health unit orders the vaccine in. It is kept on hand in the pharmacy at the St. Joseph's Health Centre and released from there.
If it is to be administered by a family physician, health unit representatives pick it up and bring it to the doctor.
Rabies is almost always fatal in humans.
If a vaccination is administered before it enters the nervous system the body can fight it.
