Vancouver Coastal Health says people who may have had contact with a possibly rabid skunk in the city’s downtown should get medical assessment.
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Vancouver Coastal Health is warning people in the city’s downtown who may have had contact with a possibly rabid skunk to get a medical assessment immediately after a video surfaced on social media.
The video, posted on Facebook on Oct. 10, shows a skunk struggling to cross a Vancouver street as bystanders gather, before a man picks up the animal using a sweater and moves it onto the sidewalk.
On Wednesday, the health authority reported that a skunk captured in the city’s downtown has tested positive for rabies, but it said it is unclear whether the animal in the Facebook video is the same one.
Vancouver Coastal Health said a small number of people were bitten by the skunk and have been assessed, and that they received rabies vaccinations and rabies immunoglobulin as a precaution.
It also said it is aware of videos capturing other exposures, and that anyone in the West End and Stanley Park areas who had contact with a skunk between Sept. 22 and Oct. 17 should contact Vancouver Coastal Health immediately.
The health authority said rabies virus is found in the saliva of infected animals and can be transmitted through bites or scratches, and that an infection affects the brain and nervous system, which can lead to death.
Vancouver Coastal Health added that rabies is not transmitted through other types of exposure such as the spray, urine or feces of an infected skunk.
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