Vancouver Coastal Health says a skunk in the city’s West End neighbourhood has tested positive for rabies.
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Vancouver Coastal Health issued a news release confirming a rabies case after a skunk that bit people in downtown Vancouver tested positive for the virus.
The health authority said the small number of people who were bitten have been assessed and received rabies vaccinations and immunoglobulin to help prevent the viral infection that affects the brain and nervous system.
Rabies virus is found in the saliva of infected animals and can be transmitted through a bite or a scratch from an infected animal, Vancouver Coastal Health said. It added the virus is not transmitted through exposure to spray, urine or feces from infected skunks.
Vancouver Coastal Health asked anyone who may have been bitten or scratched by a sick or abnormally behaving skunk in the West End neighbourhood between Sept. 22 and Oct. 17 to contact the health authority for assessment.
The release said people who live outside the health authority’s region should contact their local health authority for assessment.
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